90 Days
by Ni-chan9
Summary: Ventus never wanted to be in this situation. But when Vanitas threatened to sue and only gave him one way out, what was he suppose to do?
1. Day 1: What just Happened?

_**A/n**__: Okay, I finally got this idea I've been having up! Thanks a ton to my beta ConverseG1rl for giving me some pointers! You should go check her out after this. She writes some good stuff! :D And thanks to my sister too for explaining law to me when I bombarded her with questions. XD _

_**Rating/Genre**__: T, but possibly M in the future. Romance/Drama/Humor_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or else my favorite characters wouldn't always die._

* * *

_90 Days_

_Chapter 1: _

_What just happened?_

* * *

It was early morning when he plopped down on the living room couch while his younger twin still snored from the room upstairs. He took the remote from the armchair and flicked on the television as the screen transitioned from black, to a middle aged man standing in a suit, pointing a finger to a chart. "And today will be a high chance of rain showers from the early morning until late afternoon. If you are planning on going out, make sure to bring an umbrella."

"Well, duh," Roxas murmured, abandoning the TV as he made his way to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator door and stared blankly at the emptiness inside. "…I guess it's the usual for breakfast," he shut it close with a sigh and heard the _click_ from a door opening upstairs.

Ventus trudged down the steps slowly, swaying back and forth while Roxas suppressed the laugh that threatened to escape his lips as he looked up at his brother from below. "You gonna be alright?"

"…Nn," the blonde slurred, almost tripping over his own feet as he skipped the last step. "You didn't see that."

Roxas chuckled and stepped back into the room. "You want some toast?" He slid the toaster towards him on the counter and plugged it into the outlet.

"…We eat that almost everyday," Ventus spoke tiredly, whether due to it being early morning or of the idea of having more toast. "Don't we have anything else?"

"When you can afford '_anything else_' yeah, we'll have something else."

Ventus frowned at the fact and immediately felt regretful for starting the topic. What was he thinking? They were college students. They couldn't afford to be picky when it came to anything that involved money. He was beginning to think that putting school before work was not so good of an idea after all... "Eh, never mind. Toast is fine, Roxas."

The blonde nodded and put some bread in the toaster. "You're not even dressed," he added, glancing the teen over in his pajama-like attire. A white shirt with a large green star on both sleeves and baggy grey sweats.

Ventus looked down at himself. "Oh, right," he gave a short shrug as his explanation. "I'll go do that now. We gotta go soon, right?"

"Yeah, in like a couple minutes."

"And you weren't going to wake me up?"

"Uh-uh. Last time I did, you got all pissy and told me to '_go away. I'm tired_," Roxas mimicked his brother's voice, but ended up sounding like a PMSing girl.

"I don't sound like that," Ventus muttered embarrassingly and turned back up the stairs. He went into the bedroom they shared and opened their closet door. He pulled on some jeans over his blue boxers and switched his green night shirt for a T-shirt of similar color. Exiting the room, he went in the bathroom to brush his teeth and what-not and shortly after, met his brother back downstairs.

"Here," Roxas held out the small breakfast to him and Ven took it, biting down on it with a crunch. He opened his mouth to protest, but refrained from communication of the matter anymore. He was tired of the hardened bread all the time, but he didn't have much room to complain. Roxas balanced a job and attending college while Ventus thought it would be better to finish school quicker so he could work full time later. The idea didn't seem too bad when he was still thinking it over while sustaining a summer job before the semester started. Roxas even encouraged it at one point in time, but now Ventus could see his masked irritation and he had to admit, he was a little disappointed on how it was turning out too.

"I want my job back," the words fell from his mouth before he even realized what he said.

"Huh?" Roxas looked over his shoulder after unlocking the front door. "What did you say, Ven?"

Ventus just shook his head in response and turned the TV off, unplugging the outlet to save power before walking over beside him. "Did they say anything about rain today?" He leaned down to pull his shoes on at the doorway.

"Oh, yeah. You'll need your own umbrella though. Your class does end later than mine, right?" Roxas took the black umbrella rested by the wall in his hands.

"Mm-hm," Ven stood up straight and took the large navy one leaning against it along with his school bag sitting on the floor, "but only because my professor rambles on and on and on."

"You should just leave early then," Roxas turned off the living room light and grabbed his bag from the floor as well before walking out the apartment.

"Nah," Ven followed behind him, locking the door, "I don't want to miss anything important."

* * *

_What just happened?_

* * *

They followed the sidewalk, leading to Twilight University, up to the point to where they had to cross the street to go any further. The blonde pulled his brother back by the shoulder when he was about to step out onto the road just before a speeding car flew by. "Watch where you're going!" Roxas called, giving a roll of his eyes. "And what happened to looking both ways before crossing the street, Ven?"

"I know," he spoke softly after lifting his head up in surprise. He would have been if his mind wasn't calculating how he was going to get his job back. They were growing harder and harder to get now that the economy was going down. _Why did I quit? _he whined in his head before he sighed heavily.

"What's the matter?" Roxas questioned, lightening up on him.

"…Well, it's just-"

"Oh," Roxas nudged his shoulder, looking out onto the street, "Roads clear now. Let's go." The twin absentmindedly reached for the other's hand.

"You don't have to '_hold my hand across the street_," Ventus said, despite allowing the gesture.

Roxas turned to look at him, blinking at first as if he wasn't aware of what he was doing before he stated, "After you almost walked out, I figure I should stay on the safe side." He let go once they had passed the crossing. Roxas was only four minutes older than him, but sometimes Ventus thought he acted like he was four years. Although they both had their share of acting older than the other, Ventus usually gave his twin the job of big bro since he played the role so well anyways. "Oh, what were you going to say before?" Roxas questioned, walking towards the visual arts entrance of the building.

Ventus figured his brother should be able to concentrate on his work in class instead of how stressed he was feeling at the moment. "I can't even remember," he lied and smiled goofily.

"Wow," Roxas couldn't help but smile back as he laughed. "Well, I'll see ya when you get home, Ven."

"M'kay. Later, Roxas!" He gave him a short wave as he turned down the opposite hall while Ventus went towards his class around the corner. He raised an eyebrow as he moved closer, noticing the closed door and lifted a hand up to rattle the silver handle. It was locked? His cheeks smeared against the glass window as he pressed his face against it to look around the dark, empty space. "…Well…I _thought _my class was today," Ven murmured against the pane before leaning back. He pondered whether he should just go back home then. Roxas did say it was supposed to rain and although Ventus wasn't sure when that was going to be, he knew he didn't want to get caught in it.

Deciding, he turned on the heel of his foot and soon exited from the doors he came from. He walked pass the parking lot and stopped before stepping out into the street this time. "_Don't run out into the road while cars are crossing! I don't want what happened to mom to happen to you." _Roxas's childhood advice suddenly echoed in his head and a bitter nostalgic smile crept on Ven's face. He waited for cars to drive by and began to tap his foot. Glancing up, he noticed the clouds were beginning to darken and huddle together. "Aw, come on," he frowned at the sky, "Hurry up." His attention shifted back to the road and he gasped at what he saw.

A small cat had leaped out onto the street. "…N-No, it'll_-"_ Ven spoke almost faintly as he eyed it and he found his body reacting before his mind had the chance to. "MOVE!" he lunged forward and grabbed the animal when a loud screech tore through his ears, quickly followed by a resounding crash. For a split second, while his ears were ringing, he thought the crash was from the car colliding with his body and the damage was so immense he couldn't even initially feel it. He hoped someone would tell Roxas he was sorry that he got himself killed the same way their mother did.

Ventus slowly lifted up his head from his knees and he blinked his eyes open. The trembling cat jumped from his arms and out of harm's way as Ventus's embrace loosened around it. He sat up, feeling the sting on his left arm from where it scrapped against the cement, but he didn't pay it much attention as he was staring at the motorcycle embedded into a large tree. His jaw dropped open slightly and he briskly gathered himself to run over, avoiding anymore vehicles, to see that the ride was in even worse shape up close.

"…Oh, god…" Ventus breathed before noticing a vital thing to the accident was missing. "Who-" he cut his sentence short, hearing a low groan. Turning around, he saw a person steadily sitting up from the curb and rubbing his forearm. "…A-Are you okay?" Ventus jogged over to him worryingly as guilt tied knots in his chest.

Not answering, the biker grunted lifting the cracked helmet from over his head and gave his tousled hair a small shake.

Eyes, widening slowly, Ven stopped and stared at the teen before him. He'd never seen anything like it.

Dark hair spiked out in different directions, only described as a deep, rich kind of black like the bleakest point in the night sky while his eyes held a sunnier affect, radiating a golden hue under thick lashes. His skin was somewhat paler than Ventus's, but brought out his bolder features and drew attention to the tight black material he wore, defining every curve of muscle tone he had visible. He looked like a masterpiece. Ven figured some guys had all the luck because as far as the cerulean eyes could see he was…perfect.

"**You fucking idiot**."

Blonde brows rose at the annoyed tone that broke him from his admiring trance. He watched as the seemingly irritated teen stood to his feet to kneel beside his damaged bike. A black gloved hand brushed the bent handle bar before he stood erect and whipped his head around, "You're going to pay for that."

Ventus's eyebrows knitted together in a perplexed expression and he took a step back in defense. Was he trying to pick a fight now? He opened his mouth to object, but flinched when the boy stepped towards him and extended his arm with his palm out. "So how much money do you have?"

Ventus glanced down at his outstretched hand and exhaled silently in relief to the misunderstanding before he focused back on the situation at hand. What did he just ask him?

"Can you speak?" The teen tilted his head upwards to look down upon Ventus as if he was mentally ill.

Ven blinked once in surprise to the question before a scowl replaced his features, "Y-Yes, I can speak!" he balled his fists. The boy must have not heard him when he asked if he was okay. Ventus then relaxed his grip, hanging his head slightly in shame, "I…don't have any…" It sounded even more pitiful being spoken aloud. Why was he even telling a complete stranger this? As if it wasn't embarrassing enough. A college student with no money? How sad.

"_None_?" A dark brow raised in disbelief and a mocking pity. "Well, I'll tell ya what you're going to do. You're going to _get_ some."

"Says who?" Ven quickly lifted his head up, glowering a bit. Where did some stranger get at telling him what to do?

"You see my lips moving? Says me," the raven haired retorted sternly and pointed a thumb over his shoulder, "And says the demolished ride back there."

Ven's eyes glanced over for a moment and he shook his head. "Listen, I am sorry about your bike, but that wasn't my fault. I had to save that cat."

The other boy looked as if Ventus just slapped him in the face or something. Wasn't his fault? Seriously? "You're right. I should've just run you over. What was I thinking moving outta the way? _My _bad." His voice held heavy sarcasm and the two were soon glaring at one another.

_What a jerk_, Ventus was beginning to think. What happened to that perfect being he just saw? "Well, I gotta go," Ventus turned around and adjusted his bag over his shoulder. "Glad you were okay," he added dryly before a hand clamped down on his wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ventus looked back in surprise. "To my house."

"Not without paying me back," the teen declared.

"I didn't do anything," Ventus took a couple of jerks to free his arm.

"Didn't do anything?" The raven looked at him like he was the pinnacle of stupid. "My motorcycle wouldn't be in a tree right now if you hadn't jumped your ass in the way to save what? A damn_ cat_?" The blonde's valor nearly disgusted him. "And now look where that's gotten us."

"It's gotten you a crashed bike and me a sense of dignity. I did it because it was the right thing to do. If there's a chance for me to make a difference whether something lives or not I can't just not do anything…" Ventus's eyes were half-lidded as he stared down at the ground, yet he told the words undoubtedly. The raven made a sickened face.

"Oh, please. Spare me the hero speech. The right thing?" he repeated. "If I hadn't rolled off at the last minute, I would've died; sharing the same fate as my motorcycle over there. And you're going to stand there and tell me it was the right thing?"

Ventus gulped a little. He didn't have much room to argue, but he had been faced with the opportunity to save a life from a possible cruel fate. Perhaps the cat could've made it across the street on its own. Maybe. But how would Ventus have felt if that animal had flew into the air, already dead once the car hit contact, and he just stood around to watch? He couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't and he didn't. "…I'm sorry. I didn't think about the harm I could've caused to somebody else. My body just…moved," he retaliated and the raven clicked his tongue in response.

"You're an idiot. And I'm getting what you owe me whether you like it or not."

"How do you figure that? I already told you I don't _have_ any money."

"You do go to college don't you?" He jerked his head towards the direction of the school building on the other side of the road.

"Yeah, and it's paid through student loans…"

"And a place you stay at? Are mommy and daddy paying for you?"

"No…" Ventus scowled at his taunting. He paused for a moment before he continued, "I live with my brother in an apartment. _We_ pay for it. Well…kind of…"

"…So you're flat out broke?" he came to the final conclusion while Ventus nodded solemnly and the raven just shrugged. "Sucks for you. Shouldn't have jumped out into the street and maybe you could keep a couple thousand."

"A couple thousand? I don't have that! What are you-"

"But I bet your place is worth more than that." Ventus gawked for a moment before his eyes widened. A smirk spread across the other's face, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking? I'd say that's fair, right? You made me crash my bike; I make the government force you to give my moneys worth one way or another. Sounds good to me."

"N-No! You can't!" Panic rose in Ven's chest. "Roxas and I worked hard to get that place together!"

"Roxas?" he lifted an eyebrow. Now why did that name sound familiar? Where did he hear that? Back in high school…senior year, was it? The teen contemplated, recollecting his thoughts, "Then you're…Len? No… _Ventus_, was it?"

The blonde shifted slightly at the way his name rolled off the raven's tongue. He never knew his name could sound quite like that before. With his tone less livid and more confident if anything, he could bluntly hear the smooth velvetiness of the teen's voice. Ventus shook his head, praying a blush hadn't already dusted his face. "H-How do you know Roxas?"

"You didn't answer my question. Is that your name?"

"Yeah," Ven admitted, "but most people call me Ven."

"Well, I'm not most people, Ventus, so spare me the nicknames. Your brother was in one of my classes senior year."

"…Really?" He went to their high school? Ventus never saw him before; at least he didn't think he did. No, he would've remembered somebody like him, but Roxas never spoke of him. Though assuming how the guy's personality was turning out to be, he could see why.

"I just said that. And now that I got your name; Ventus Strife, nothing is really stopping me from suing you."

"You don't understand, I need all the money I can get! I can't afford to be sued. W-We'll lose our apartment!"

"Probably," he said with no remorse, "And it'll be all your fault. Too bad you picked an animal over the consequences." He picked up his helmet and held it under his left arm, "Maybe you'll think twice next time."

"No, please!" Ventus grabbed his wrist before he left and the teen looked back leisurely over his shoulder. "You can't do this. Roxas, he'll… He'll be so angry. He works hard enough to keep a roof over our head. I can't just let that all go to waste. It'll…" _It'll be all my fault._ Ventus stared down at the ground. What would Roxas say if they lost their house because of him? What would he think? He would look at him in so much shame, so much disgrace. He would hate him and Ventus would hate himself for that. "Please, I'll get a job," his voice came out somber. "I'll pay you back."

He sneered, "And who knows how long that'll take, seeing as you don't even have one now. If you did, I wouldn't have to sue you to get the money. All the things you could've done to avoid this situation and you go through every wrong door." He shook his head as if he was looking at some naïve child.

Ventus's hands fisted by his sides, "I'll try to find a job as soon as possible."

"…Nah, that's not good enough."

"Come on! All I'm asking is that you don't sue! Please, I-"

"Fine. Stop groveling. It's pathetic." Ventus clamped his mouth shut into a frown. "Since you're so desperate, I suppose I'll let it slide."

The blonde blinked in surprise and then a grin of relief spread over his face. "Thank-"

"_But_," the sinister teen raised a finger, "You have to do something for me."

Ventus's eyes narrowed as he made an uncertain expression. "…Like what?" he inquired reluctantly. He didn't have much to offer. He lacked money. He didn't own anything of high value. He didn't have some secret knowledge to share. The only thing he really had that he considered important was Roxas. So what in the world could somebody like him do for a guy like this?

"I'm thinking along the lines of servitude."

"…Say what now?"

He continued, relishing in the jaw dropping look on Ventus's face. "My bitch, my slave, subordinate, lackey, whatever you wanna call it. Bottom line is, you do whatever I say when I say it. No objections and no complaining."

"…Are you crazy? I'm no one's bitch!" Ventus could hardly believe what he was hearing! "Especially to some guy I don't even know! Forget that!"

"Okay. See you in court."

The blonde grimaced as he was about to storm off, offended and angry. He couldn't. He just couldn't agree to such terms. His servant? It was ridiculous. He'd be the biggest idiot on Earth if he ever agreed to something as demeaning as that. But…if he didn't they'd lose their house! And he just couldn't explain to Roxas why their home was being taken away. That is, if Roxas isn't heated enough to actually_ listen_ to his explanation. No, it was selfish. Maybe if it was just Ven's place, he could, but not when his brother was in danger too. He would just have to settle for blackmail.

"…ne."

"What?"

"I said _fine_," he grudgingly spat out, arms crossed in an immature fashion.

"We've already established that I'll see you in court."

"You know what I mean," Ventus could've sworn he just wanted to hear him say it. "I'll…be your assistant or whatever."

"…Suit yourself." Ventus heard the mono tone, but caught the victorious smirk on the other's face before rain started to lightly drip from the sky. The teen glanced up at the water droplets hitting his face and then at Ventus. "Is that an umbrella?"

"Hm?" Ventus moved it from behind his back. "Yeah."

"You can start earlier than I thought then. Give me it."

"What? No!" Ventus gripped it towards his chest. "I need this on my way back."

"I'm sorry, is that an objection?" The blonde gritted his teeth. Blackmail was a bitch. "Because I could've sworn I said no objections, right? Take whatever ride you got here from."

"I didn't take a ride. I walked."

"Well, if your place is close enough to walk and mine is far enough that I need a motorcycle, I think it's apparent who needs the umbrella more. Not that there's any room to debate, _servant boy_." Good lord, how did he ever think he was anything NEAR perfect? The rain started to fall harder and the teen held a hand out. "Hurry up."

Roxas would question why he was soaked, but Ventus could always dry himself off before he got home. "Here," he murmured, shoving it out in front of him.

He took it, "Good." He turned to leave while Ventus figured he truly was the biggest idiot on Earth.

"Wait!" he held his hand out, insinuating for him to stop. "When am I gonna get that back?"

"When you pick it up from my house."

"I don't know where your house is!" Ven exclaimed, "I don't even know your name!"

He gave one last sideways glance over his shoulder, "I guess you'll have to figure it out then."

Ventus stared forward until the teen faded from eyesight, becoming a black blur. He might as well have sported wicked black wings and a speared tail because as far as Ventus was concerned, he just sold his soul to the devil.

* * *

_What just happened?_

* * *

His feet slapped the cement as the bottoms of his skinny jeans were soaking up more and more water. The rain was pouring down now as he ran home and he didn't even bother trying to shield his hair with his hand anymore. "Oh, my god!" he reached the front door of the house and swung it open, panting.

He hugged himself in attempt to bring back the warmth he had lost from the cold wind outside and dropped his bag down on the floor before making his way upstairs. Taking off his wet clothes, he put on a dry attire and went to the bathroom to blow dry the dripping locks. "I can't believe this," he unplugged the device when he was done and gave his hair a shake before staring at himself in the mirror. He could barely come to terms with what just happened. Maybe it was just some dumb dream and he really didn't wake up that morning. Maybe if he got back in the bed, he'd wake up back to reality.

Ventus considered it was reasonable enough. More reasonable than becoming some stranger's slave. He went back into his room and threw the covers on his bed to the side as he climbed under them. Laying his head down on his pillow, his lids covered his eyes. If he just went to sleep, he'd wake up and it'd all be different...

* * *

_**A/n**__: Well, how was it? :D I just love VanVen & honestly I think they need more love! I want to get to the yaoi so bad, but I won't rush a story. But don't worry it's coming. In the mean time, please __**review/comment**__! They're greatly welcomed and appreciated! I'll answer all reviews next chapter since I've found out I get some good questions & comments from you all :D _


	2. Day 1: Let the Shame Begin

**A/n**:_ This chapter wasn't beta'd because I actually think it doesn't need to be. You can tell me if there are any errors. No offense to ConverseG1rl! You could probably find some way to make my work better, twin, but I just decided to upload this :D I look forward to working with you on the next chapter! *3* _

**Rating/Genre**:_ T, but possibly M in the future. Romance/Drama/Humor_

**Disclaimer**:_ I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. I'd be so freakin' rich if I did :D Who knew mixing Final Fantasy style people & Disney characters would be so successful._

* * *

_90 Days_

_Chapter 2: _

_Let the shame begin_

* * *

"Ventus."

His shoulder was jostled from the side of the bed. "…Argh…hrm?" The blonde raised his head from the mattress slowly as he tried to focus his eyes on the person shadowing his field of vision.

"Are you sick or something?"

He blinked, seeing now that somebody had placed a mirror in front of him. No, wait…reflections didn't speak unless you did. "Eh, no..." Ventus rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and gave a short yawn before he fully sat up, allowing the blood flow to clear his head. "I just fell asleep, Roxas."

"Like you don't sleep in enough," the brother turned away from him once he learned he was alright.

"Hey, wait," Ven tossed his legs over the side of the bed. "What…time is it…?"

"Around two o'clock... Why?" Roxas watched his twin stare off into space.

Two o'clock? But his mornings never started that late. "Are you sure…?"

"Yes." Roxas took the digital clock off their dresser and held it up to Ven's face, "See how it reads _2:00_."

"…You didn't change the time or anything?"

"No, Ven! What are you even talking about?" Roxas set it back down with a _clack_. "You probably just fell asleep when you got home from school. When did you anyways? I thought you were getting back after me."

"I was…but…I got back at like…nine or something."

"Nine? Did they let you guys out early?"

"No, my class wasn't open today, so I just went back home." Ventus let out a sigh, "Roxas, we woke up early this morning, didn't we?"

"Yeah. We walked to school and I left to go to my class and you went to go to yours, which apparently was closed, so you went home and got in the bed and fell asleep." Roxas recapped as much as he knew. All that was true, his brother just forgot the part where he almost got a guy killed by saving a cat and was threatened to be sued, but picked to be a servant in order to avoid a hazardous law suit. Ventus glanced down at his left arm and saw the dark red line from where the blood had dried from his cut. He exhaled heavily at the memory and stood up from his bed. It wasn't a dream. "Are you okay?" Roxas posed puzzlingly and Ven nodded for his twin's sake. "If you say so."

"Hey, Roxas," the younger teen began hesitantly, "Do you- …Do you know a guy with black hair and…goldish eyes?" There was a prolonged pause and Ventus started to think Roxas hadn't heard him.

"…I don't really know him, but I know _of_ him. Are you talking about Vanitas?" _That's his name?_ Ventus pondered. Weird, it sounded similar to his. But that would be the only thing they had in common! Ventus was nothing like that asshole! "Why do you ask?" Roxas asked suspiciously.

"O-Oh, I just saw him on the street and he looked a little…familiar."

Roxas shrugged, "He went to our high school. That's probably where you saw him." _Or _where he _should've_, but Ventus had never seen him in his life and lucky for him too or his high school days might've been a living hell. "Oh, and Sora should be here soon," Roxas said, "We're heading over to the mall."

"What about me?" Ven questioned.

Roxas appeared tentative, yet mumbled, "You can come too…"

Ventus frowned at his tone. He knew Roxas really would prefer for him to stay home while he hanged out with his best friend, Sora. "Nah, that's okay. You guys can go."

"You sure?" Roxas asked, but didn't seem likely to push the statement too much.

"Yeah. I'm sure." The doorbell rang and Roxas turned to go answer it.

"Hey," the brunette greeted when the door opened. Before Roxas could utter a response, Sora called over his shoulder towards his driver, "You sure you can't just drive us there, Riku?"

The year older teen leaned his head out the window. "Not if blondie is going!" Sora rolled azure eyes and waved a hand as Riku returned the gesture before swerving his silver Corvette out of the parking lot and speeding down the road.

"Eh, sorry about Riku," Sora scratched the back of his head and smiled slightly, turning back to Roxas.

"Its fine," Roxas snorted indifferently. Since when were Riku and him on good terms anyways? Especially since Sora wanted to hang out with the blonde a lot lately. "It's raining. Come in, idiot."

"Gee, thanks." Sora slipped his red T-shirt hood off his head when he stepped inside and patted his spikes. "It's colder than I thought it'd be out there too. Do you have a jacket I could borrow, Roxas? And maybe an umbrella? Sorry, I thought I could convince Riku to drive us, but you know how that goes," he gave a short shrug.

_Asshole_, Roxas immediately thought. "It's cool. I don't mind you wearing one of my jackets. And Ven," he turned to his twin who had followed down the steps behind him, "can Sora use that umbrella you had this morning?"

"Sure, it's-" Ventus closed his mouth as he recalled where the object was. "Um, it's…" Roxas raised a brow puzzlingly. Shit, what was he suppose to say? _Oh, I gave it to Vanitas because I'm his servant now and he told me too?_ "U-Uh, I think I left it upstairs," Ventus muttered before he coughed more assuringly. "Yeah, it's upstairs."

"…Okaaay," Roxas tossed him a look. "Be right back," he insinuated to his friend before jogging up the steps.

Ventus bit his thumb nail in thought. He was suppose to get that back. He just couldn't leave it over with…that fiend forever. Roxas would ask about it again eventually and Ventus couldn't cover up his lies forever. What else was he suppose to do? If he was interrogated by his brother he might crack and spill everything! But he didn't even know where Vanitas lived! What was he suppose to _do_?

Sora caught the blonde's battling expression. "Are you okay, Ven?"

"Uh," he dropped his hand from his mouth, "Yeah. It's just…" Sora blinked, waiting for a reply. He could ask Sora, right? He went to their high school too, so maybe he knew where Vanitas lived because he was _not_ about to ask Roxas. The twin's first question would be '_Why? Are you trying to go over to his house?_' And it wasn't like that. He wasn't dropping by because he wanted to, he was more _compelled_ to. "Sora, uh, don't take this the wrong way, but do you know where…Vanitas lives?"

"Vanitas? I should know, he's my cousin."

"Okay, where- YOUR COUSIN?" Ventus repeated in astonishment.

There was no way.

"Well, yeah," Sora gave a small smile, "Don't you see the family resemblance?" He waved a hand in front of his face. Ventus gawked. Now that he thought about it, he could. Their hair was the same style and their faces were similar, but in Ventus's eyes there were more differences than similarities. Such as Sora's skin was a California tan and he had a lean body with bright blue eyes and milk chocolate color hair. And while Vanitas came off as cruel and selfish, Sora was nice and thought about other people, sometimes, even before himself.

"I can't believe it…" Ventus murmured, and Sora waved a hand in front of cerulean eyes.

"Hello, Earth to Ventus."

Ventus blinked his eyes open wider and shook his head. "Uh, s-sorry."

Sora laughed, "No problem."

"S-so where does he li-?"

"It's not up here, Ventus!" Roxas called.

"Yeah, it is! I remember I put it up there! You're not looking hard enough!" Ventus called back and turned back to Sora, ushering him to continue.

"Oh, it's on Badlands Drive. It's at an apartment complex. But turn onto the back entrance of the place because that's closer to his house. It's on the left side and its number…606."

How fitting that it was almost all sixes. Ventus made a mental note, "Okay…" He scratched his head. Man, he sucked at directions. "Is it far from here?"

"Not by car, but if you walk its a couple miles, I think. Why? Are you planning on going or something?"

See? If Sora was asking, Roxas would have raised the question a lot earlier in the conversation. "…Yeah," Ventus decided on telling him that much, "I need to get something back from him."

"Something back?" Sora repeated, perplexed. What on Earth did somebody have to get back from Vanitas? "Did he take something from you?"

"…My-"

"Ventus, it's not up there!" Roxas thudded back down the stairs, giving up the hopeless search. "You did take it home, right? Can you remember?"

"Um…" Ventus tilted his head like he was trying to recall and Sora saw his desperate-for-an-excuse expression.

"You know, it really doesn't matter anymore. We can just share your umbrella, Roxas." He flashed a smile at the blonde and pointed to the jacket in his hand, "That for me?"

"Uh, yeah." Roxas handed him the dark blue article of clothing, a light blush across his features.

"Thanks, what would I do without you?" Sora pulled it on over his shirt and gave a goofy grin.

Roxas was somewhat glad Ventus spoke first, because he had no idea what to say. "How long are you guys gonna be out?"

Sora and Roxas exchanged glances with a shrug. "Eh, maybe like three hours or so?" Roxas replied and Sora tilted his head.

"Or four or five. We haven't hung out in so long with your job and school and all, Roxas! You are off from work today, right?" The brunette frowned.

"Yeah, don't worry. They didn't need me today."

"Awesome! And I don't have class today either!" Sora threw an arm over Roxas's shoulder cheerfully.

_They're such good friends. Must be nice,_ Ventus thought. He didn't have a best friend like that. Recent college graduates, Terra and Aqua, came the closest, but sometimes they reminded him more of adoptive parents than buddies, especially the motherly Aqua. "Alright. Have fun guys," Ven gave a smile.

"You won't be too bored, will you? My PSP is upstairs if you wanna play it." Roxas pointed a finger.

"I will, but don't worry about me. Enjoy your day off." Ventus waved a hand towards the door.

"You can come with us if you want," Sora suggested and Ventus didn't bother looking at Roxas's you-better-not face that was probably being worn. He knew Sora was his best friend and all, but did that mean he had to go alone with him? But he supposed if he hadn't seen Aqua and Terra in awhile (which he hasn't) he'd want to be alone with them too.

"No, I'm fine." Ven nudged his twin towards the door, "You guys better get going before it rains even harder."

"Yeah, I hear ya." Roxas tugged on his hoodie by the front door and picked up the umbrella. He opened the door with a _crack_ and looked back at Ventus, "I'll see you in like five hours or so, okay?"

"Or six or seven," Sora added, about to exit with Roxas, who opened the umbrella outside, when Ven took his arm. He glanced back, blinking slightly.

"Could you not tell Roxas about what I asked you? About Vanitas, I mean," the teen's voice dropped to a whisper.

Sora raised a brow, "…Sure thing, Ven, but-"

"Are you coming?" Ventus dropped his hand before his twin leaned back in the doorway.

"Yeah. Wait, you got the umbrella!" Sora went out and stepped closely under it with Roxas. It was strange. If Ventus didn't know any better, he'd say they almost looked like a couple. He waved at the two and shut the door once they disappeared down the sidewalk.

And the coast was clear.

* * *

_Let the shame begin_

* * *

Ventus walked down the street past Twilight University, a jacket tugged over his upper body. The roads weren't as busy as they were before and Ventus smiled at the fact once he crossed one. The last thing he needed was to make somebody else crash and fall into more blackmail. Or maybe that was more of a once in a lifetime thing. The usual driver would just sue his ass with no remorse, right? Maybe it was actually…_generous_ of Vanitas to just make him his servant…

Ventus violently shook his head from side to side. No way! There was nothing generous about that! The raven was still an asshole! Enough said.

_Badlands Drive… Badlands Drive… _Ventus's eyes scanned for the street name. Sora said it was about a couple miles away. Ven bit his bottom lip as he pondered. The only apartment complex he knew aside from his own was a little far off. Maybe it was the one he was looking for. He came to an intersection and turned the corner, gradually starting to trudge past some nearby stores and shops. He flicked his eyes over to the buildings. Maybe he'd get a couple job applications on his way back.

It seemed like forever until supermarkets started disappearing and he saw more trees and houses. He wished he had his umbrella at the moment as the rain started to pick up and his jacket was only soaking up the water, weighing his hood down on his head. After awhile, he peered up to see a grey sign reading Badlands Drive. Ventus went around the front entrance though since Sora said it was closer to the back and he entered from behind. Ven walked up a slightly inclined road as he paid attention to the rooms he passed by to his left. _609, 608, 607…Complex 606._ He stopped in front of the door. He didn't see any cars parked in front, so maybe he wasn't home. Oh, wait. He crashed his motorcycle, so of course there wouldn't be any vehicles if that was his only ride. Ventus lifted his fist up and knocked on the door.

He waited a couple delayed minutes when he contemplated trying again later before he heard a_ crack_. The door opened, revealing a black haired teen, but not the one he was expecting. A girl with short raven hair and big cobalt eyes stared up at him for a second before she cried out and flung herself forward. "ROXAS!" her arms outstretched and wrapped around his torso in a tight hug.

Ven almost lost his balance by the sudden glomp and he blinked multiple times. He must have gotten the wrong house. "W-Wait, I'm-"

"I haven't seen you in forever! Why don't you pick up your phone?" the girl complained against his chest.

"Huh? I'm not-"

"You don't even care that I've missed you, do ya?"

"I-"

"And why are you so wet? Whatever, you're still in so much trouble now!"

"Hold on, I'm-"

"Let go, Xion." A strong arm pulled the girl back from the blonde by the collar of her shirt.

"Ah!" she teetered back a couple steps before regaining her footing and looking back. "Vanitas!" Ventus looked at the teenage boy as well. What was he doing at this girl's house? Xion pointed a thumb behind her, "I'm trying to scold Roxas."

"That isn't Roxas. That's Ventus," he stated flatly and Ventus wondered how he could tell so quickly. The blonde was in different clothes than from the last time he saw him and the raven had just come down the stairs.

"…Ven…tus?" She turned back to him and blinked steadily for a moment. "Oh! I see now! Roxas wouldn't be looking as confused!" she laughed a bit, scratching the back of her head. "I'm sorry, I thought you were Roxas. I forgot he has a twin bro. I guess I just got so riled, I saw your face and I just…" Her cheeks reddened embarrassingly. "I feel stupid now."

"You should."

Xion gave Vanitas a frown before putting her attention back on Ventus. "I don't think we've met before. Stupid Roxas." She held her hand out, "I'm Xion. Nice to finally meet you."

Xion. He thought the name sounded familiar when Vanitas first said it. He took her hand and shook it with a smile, "Hey, Xion. Call me Ven. I think my brother has talked about you before. I just never have seen you in person."

"You _think_ he's talked about me?" She hung her head down glumly. "Roxas has forgotten all about me since high school ended…"

"H-Hey now, no he hasn't!" he immediately tried to be comforting. "My, uh, my memory just sucks. You're one of his friends. He wouldn't forget about you."

"Really?" Xion raised her head. "He doesn't even answer when I call," she admitted exasperatingly.

Ventus made a perplexed expression. "Well, that's not like him... Hey, do you have your phone on you?"

"Yeah," Xion tugged the purple Blackberry out of her skinny jean pocket and held it out. Ventus took it and went to her contacts then scrolled to the _R_s. "…No wonder. I see the problem!" He punched in the numbers the best he could on the cramped keyboard. "You were off by a couple digits. It's 404-516-7_8_7_6_." He held it out to her after correcting it. "There ya go."

"…I didn't even think of that. Gosh, now I feel really dumb!" Xion groaned, but smiled up at him. "Thanks, Ven."

"Mr. Hero strikes again." Vanitas retorted contemptuously and Ventus shot him glare. He almost forgot why he was there; to get his umbrella back and leave.

"Where's that umbrella you took from me? That's the only reason I'm here."

"I didn't take it, you gave it to me."

"Only because I have t-!" Ventus clamped his mouth shut, almost forgetting that Xion was standing there. He didn't want anyone outside of Vanitas and himself to know about their little agreement. "You know what I mean," he grumbled and Xion glanced back and forth at the two.

Vanitas scoffed then looked at the girl. "You saw me come in with an umbrella, right?"

"Uh-huh. Didn't you throw it down on your floor somewhere," Xion answered more than she asked.

"Maybe," he tilted his head towards that direction, "Go get it for me."

"What? Why? It's in your room."

"And I'm finally giving you permission to go in it, now go."

"Ugh!" Xion sighed loudly and started trudging up the steps mumbling something that sounded to Ventus like '_older brothers…_'

The blonde looked back at the teen. "You're her brother?"

"Obviously," he answered and Ventus stared at him. First, Sora was his cousin and now Xion was his sister? Did they know they were related to Satan! Vanitas cocked an eyebrow, "Why are you staring at me?"

Ventus quickly averted his gaze, "I wasn't staring, just looking."

"Right. We'll pretend that's true." Vanitas continued before Ven could retort, "How did you find where I lived anyways? That was a lot faster than I thought you capable of."

"Sora told me. I asked him."

"That idiot?" Vanitas glanced up for a moment like he was remembering the brunette's face. He assumed the blonde also asked his cousin for his name too, either that or his twin brother. "Well, that's no fun," he mumbled.

"Well, I wasn't going to trek all around town until I found you," Ventus replied just before Xion called from the room upstairs.

"I don't see it, Vanitas! How do you find anything in this room?"

Vanitas rolled golden eyes then turned to walk up the stairs. Looking back down, he jerked his head to the right, indicating for Ventus to follow. Thoughtlessly obeying, the blonde walked up the steps and followed behind the teen to the room Xion stood in. Ventus's eyes widened. The twin-sized bed had red covers sprawled messily across it. Scattered garments of clothes lay on the floor like the teen didn't own a closet. There was a dark book shelf with books that looked like they were thrown on there rather than placed. A lot of objects that Ven couldn't even distinguish piled the teen's desk and the drawers on his dresser stuck out untidily like a preschooler built it. "What do you mean you can't find it?"

"How can I? It's like finding a needle in a hay stack." Xion tip toed on the few visible carpeted spots as she dodged clothing and undergarments. "Ah! Vanitas, you have boxers lying on the floor!"

"Have you never seen a man's underwear before?" He leaned leisurely against his door frame. "You're such a virgin."

Xion gasped, "S-Shutup!" She flushed and Ventus was almost embarrassed_ for _her. His older brother would never say anything so insensitive like that to him; especially involving a topic as personal as your virgini- wait…was Vanitas not a virgin? Ventus's eyes ventured over to him and at that moment, the girl's ringtone went off and she took her phone out of her pocket, smiling at the name she saw.

"Is it Roxas?" Ventus caught the look on her face.

"No, another friend. Axel," she clicked a button and held the cell up to her ear. She soon started laughing and made her way out of the room to go into her own corridors. Vanitas seemed indifferent that she left as he was looking around intently at his room, hands resting in his jean pockets.

Ventus gave him a quick glance. He figured it was none of his business whether the teen was a virgin or not. The blonde looked forward and after a moment of silently staring, the words spilled out thoughtlessly, "Your room is a mess."

Vanitas broke his attention away and looked at the blonde. "You really think so?"

"Well…yeah," Ven gestured a hand towards it, surprised he was even asking, "Look at it."

He smirked, "Well, I'm glad you think so, because you're going to be the one cleaning it."

"What?" Ventus dropped his shoulders and gaped at the room.

"You heard me. You want your umbrella back and you have to do what I say anyways, so I hope you're good with your hands and a vacuum."

Ventus opened his mouth to protest, then clamped it shut, stared forward hopelessly and finally exhaled with a loud sigh. "Whatever."

* * *

_Let the shame begin_

* * *

The blonde sat on his knees tossing clothes into a large hamper. He cringed a bit picking up the crimson or black boxers. He was no girl, but the fact that they were Vanitas's made it rather uncomfortable. Speaking of which, the raven wasn't even in the room at the moment. Ventus didn't know where he went, but he wasn't complaining. It was bad enough that he was cleaning his room. He didn't need him there to criticize while he did it.

Ventus reached behind his back to throw the last bit of clothing into the basket when his hand hit something hard. He turned and saw it was the helmet Vanitas carried under his arm before he left the incident. Ventus picked it up and looked at it, tracing his finger down the crack. "He could've just worn this instead of using my umbrell- ah!" he winced as he drew blood from his index finger on the broken lens. He dropped the helmet and put his finger into his mouth. "I don't suppose he'll give me a band-aid," Ven murmured and he stood up to stretch his stiff back when something caught his eye behind him. He turned around and saw Xion standing by the doorway, leaning her head in slightly. Ven smiled at her, "Uh, hey."

"Hey," she spoke back leisurely before blinking a couple times. "It's Ven, right?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded his head and then looked at her questioningly. _Why is she staring at me?_

Xion held her eyes on him for a moment before she posed, "Ventus, why are you cleaning my brother's room?"

Ventus now stared back at her. How could he not see that coming? He blinked a couple times before looking down towards the floor. "Uh…you see…" He kicked his foot at the carpet a little. He had to think of something fast. Something believable. "He's…he's my friend!" he blurted out the first excuse that came to his mind. Like that was believable!

Xion raised a black brow, shockingly. "Really? I didn't know Vanitas had friends."

"Well…he's got me," Ventus lied the best he could; putting on a smile that he hoped wasn't too self-conscious.

Xion knitted her eyebrows together doubtfully, "When did you guys meet?"

He couldn't tell her '_today_.' Anyone with common sense would know something was up. "Uh, back in high school."

"For real?" she considered. "Huh. He never mentioned you before."

"Well, you know how he is, being his sister and all," he gestured a hand towards her. "He's not the…um, type."

"Yeah, you're right." Xion tapped her chin, "But how does a nice guy like you become someone like my brother's friend?"

"Uh…" Ventus gave an uneasy grin, "Opposites…attract?" It was the best he could do. He could hardly believe what he was saying.

Xion snickered a bit and a smile played on her face. "So do you always clean your friend's rooms?"

"Oh," Ventus looked back around the space. "I'm just doing him a favor. You know, helping him out. Like they say, what are friends for?" he beamed widely.

She nodded her head optimistically, "Yeah! And we're friends now too, right?"

Ventus blinked then smiled, "Of course."

"So do you need some help-" she began before her name was called from downstairs.

"Xion! Do you not hear your phone ringing that freaking song?" Vanitas narrowed his eyes annoyingly, "I'm going to throw it at the wall if you don't answer it!"

"W-Wait!" she called back, "It's probably Axel!" She quickly jogged out the room to answer her cell while Ventus dropped his eyes from the doorway and sighed. _That was a close one…_

* * *

_Let the shame begin_

* * *

After awhile, Ven had finished correcting the books on the shelf. The rest of the room looked almost spotless while he rested an index finger on his chin, contemplating what to do with the piled items on the desk. Light footsteps sounded closer when Vanitas turned into his room and he stopped at the doorway. He flicked his eyes around the space like he barely recognized it. Pausing for a minute, he gave a low whistle. "Damn."

"You're welcome."

"Oh, don't act like you did this out of the goodness of your heart," Vanitas reminded him before he inquired out of curiosity, "How did you learn how to clean like this?" He looked at his maid-quality made bed.

"My last job," Ventus explained, "I was in charge of cleaning the retail store before it opened and closed." He didn't know whether Vanitas merely nodded his head in response or not as the blonde stared down at the desk, "What do you want me to do with this stuff?" He looked behind him after picking some of the objects up in his hands.

The dark haired teen pointed a finger. "Just put it up in the closet shelf or something. I don't care."

Ventus stepped over to the door and slid it open. He tilted his head upwards. "How am I supposed to reach that?" The shelf raised above his head.

"Grab a chair, genius." Vanitas crossed his arms as he watched. Ven took the small black stool near him and stood on top of it. He balanced the objects in one arm as he tried to stretch the other to reach the ledge. Vanitas rolled his eyes and walked up behind him, "What are you doing? It's not even that high."

"Says you!" Ventus replied irritably and attempted another reach on his tip-toes. _Almost there_, he thought just before his feet unexpectedly slid out from underneath him. He gasped as he tried to regain his balance on the stool, but just ended up turning himself around and falling on top of the wide-eyed teen below. The raven's back hit the floor and he coughed as some of the wind knocked out of him while the fallen items scattered around.

Ventus groaned raising his head slightly from the teen's shoulder. The two fluttered their eyes open and stared at one another, realizing that the proximity between them was so close they could feel each other's breaths against the other's lips. The blonde's hair was still damp from his walk in the rain and cool strands brushed the raven's face. Ventus gulped dryly as the golden gaze from under him was beginning to make his heart beat at a deadly rate. The orbs were like shards of amber. Who had eyes like that?

The raven blinked once and then unlocked his hues from cerulean, before he drowned and never returned from the ocean known as Ven's eyes. He tried propping himself up on one arm when he quickly winced in pain. Ventus blinked after the motion and noticed the teen's arm was wrapped untidily in white bandages under his black sleeve. He recalled the teen rubbing his arm on the curb that morning. _That's…from the accident? _

"Get off me already," Vanitas shoved him to the side with his other arm and Ven's eyes widened landing on the floor with a _thud_. He cringed slightly as his cut arm stung skidding on the carpet. Vanitas stood up and brushed himself off before fixating the teen with a glare.

The blonde sat on the carpet, knees slightly bent and apart. He was at a loss for words. What was he suppose to reply with? _He_ fell on _him_. He should've ended the awkward moment first. "W-Well," he managed, standing to his feet, "if you weren't in the way I wouldn't have fell on you." He narrowed his blue eyes and Vanitas snapped back,

"Don't start with me. I didn't know you were such a fucking klutz."

The black haired girl listened to the argument drag on as she leaned her back against the wall. A Cheshire Cat grin plastered on her face outside of the door and she whispered to herself, "Friends, huh?"

* * *

**Thank you to ****OmniaVanitas****, ****TheAnnoyingVoice****, ****MeeSheeMuFFin,**** KonataIzumi1 & ****A Dedication To The End for reviewing last chapter!**

**A/n**:_ I got a whole BUNCH of story alerts & story favorites for this fic :D And those are awesome, but dropping a comment while you're doing that just makes me feel all warm inside. I love actually reading feedback, just helps me write. So thanks again to those 5! I always welcome new reviewers and old ones too (don't worry, I don't find it annoying if you comment every chapter. Why would I?) So anywho, how was Chapter 2? I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! I'll reply to comments next chapter. In the meantime, please, __**REVIEW/COMMENT~!**_

_Oh! And I saw this video of Ventus, Sora, Vanitas & Roxas dancing. Seriously, my first reaction was what the hell did I just watch & then I laughed. Check it out, if you're interested. (For some reason freaking FF wont let me put it up, so just put this-) .com/watch?v=N4fd9uVTTzo (-after the youtube URL.) :D_


	3. Day 2: Don't Tell!

**Disclaimer**:_ I do not own Kingdom Hearts in any way. Wish I did. But I don't._

**Rating/Genre**:_ T, but possibly M in the future. Romance/Drama/Humor_

**A/n**:_ Here's Chapter 3! I think ConverseG1rl ish busy, so I got the 'o so kind MeeSheeMuFFin to beta this one! :D They're both awesome writers! Read their stuff! After this~!_

* * *

_90 Days_

_Chapter 3:_

_Don't Tell!_

* * *

Ventus turned the gold knob _incredibly_ slow before he pushed the door open. As he anticipated, no light spilled from the room seeing as all of them were turned off. He leaned his head inside and listened carefully. He couldn't hear the slightest sound, but he figured that was normal since his brother never was the snoring type. Deciding it was safe to proceed, he inched closer towards the direction of his bed.

He just got back home from Vanitas's, the house that he stayed at later than he expected. Ventus narrowed his eyes, remembering. He was still irritated that despite cleaning the boy's whole room, his umbrella wasn't even in it. He found it in the living room behind the couch. The blonde could've sworn Vanitas did that on purpose, but it was hard to tell. The black haired teen was almost impossible to read sometimes. _He really isn't like most people…_

Ventus tip-toed closer to his sanctuary when a spot he stepped on made a creaking noise. He paused, silently murmuring profanities as he glanced back. Not even a stir_._ He continued creeping when another sound stopped him dead in his tracks, making Ven gasp and clutch at his shirt.

"I know that's you, Ven."

He gulped, looking over at his twin's bed. The teen's back was towards him and he wondered (he hoped) Roxas was just talking in his sleep. He hung his shoulders, the hand falling to his side limply. No…the voice was much too clear and the statement made too much sense. "Uh…" Ventus just gave a nervous chuckle.

Roxas faced the wall, eyes open and staring keenly. "Where've you been?" The older brother then sat up and looked towards the silhouette of his twin. It was so dark, Ventus could vaguely make out his brother's face, but he could distinctly hear the concern in his tone.

"I…was just at a friend's house."

"A friend's house?" Roxas repeated doubtfully. Ven's friends consisted of Terra, who was out of state right now on a college trip, and Aqua, who had gone to another city to help out her Grandpa Eraqus. "And which friend is that?"

Ventus blinked then bit his bottom lip thoughtlessly. He couldn't say Terra or Aqua! "Uh…Lea."

Roxas raised blonde brows, "Axel and Reno's brother?"

"Yeah."

"I thought you said he was obnoxious. Since when were you guys good friends?"

"Since I was bored at home because my brother was out for hours." Ventus continued before Roxas could respond, "Besides, he's not that bad. I was little when I said that, Roxas. People change. Anyways, how long _were_ you out with Sora?"

Roxas's suspiciously narrowed eyes suddenly widened at the boy's mention. "O-Only five hours or so…"

Ventus raised a brow. He couldn't see his face, but his voice sounded off and Ven could just imagine a red tint on his brother's cheeks for some reason. He shrugged the thought away though. It had been a long day. "I thought you would have stayed out longer since you guys haven't hung out in awhile. You don't get a day off often, Roxas."

"Yeah, well…" Roxas looked from his covers towards his twin, "I got worried about you, so I came back."

Ven frowned. _Really?_ "Well…you didn't have to do that... I told you I'd be fine."

"Yeah, but you didn't go with us, so I felt a little bad."

"You didn't _want_ me to go." Ventus crossed him arms, mustering a pout.

"I…" Roxas paused. There was no point in denying it. He didn't. He wanted it to be just him and Sora, and now he was wondering if that ended up being a good thing or not. "Well, that's why I came back. Because I felt bad."

Ventus looked to the side for a second before dropping his arms by his side. "It's fine. I'm not mad." He smiled, "As long as you had fun, I shouldn't be complaining. You did have fun, right?"

Roxas glanced up, "Y-Yeah. It was…fun…"

"What did you guys do?" Ventus questioned innocently.

"Um…" Roxas's eyes widened slightly before he waved the question away, "nothing much. How was it at Lea's place?"

Ven's eyes followed a similar motion. "Oh, it was…" His mind flashbacked to landing on top of Vanitas only hours ago and his cheeks flushed, "…awkward."

"Huh?"

"I mean! It was fun!" Ventus waved his arms out in front of him.

"What did you guys do?" Roxas asked interestingly.

"Uh…nothing…much…" His words trailed off and the blondes soon looked at each other in an uncomfortable silence, neither one of them seeming eager to go into detail on how they spent their evening. Ventus glanced down at the floor and gave a cough. "W-Well, I don't know about you, Roxas, but I'm kind of tired."

"Y-Yeah, same here, I guess."

"Then why weren't you asleep when I came in the room?"

"Because you keep stepping on that same creaky spot," Roxas joked and Ventus laughed.

"Oh, whatever!" The smiling blonde climbed into his bed and snuggled under his covers.

Roxas snorted a chuckle and laid back down in his own bed. He blinked, staring at the wall. Actually…Ventus didn't wake him up because he was already awake. And thank gawd the darkened room couldn't reveal the reddened tinge from where previous tears stained the whites of his eyes. He just had too much on his mind and he couldn't tell his twin what really happened. He couldn't tell Ventus that he kissed Sora at the mall.

Roxas shifted uncomfortably in his bed. He had to stop thinking about it. About the way Sora looked at him when he parted his lips. About the way Roxas himself stammered an apology and ran off. If he didn't stop thinking about it, he'd never be able to fall asleep. And he had no one to blame but himself! How stupid could he be to put their friendship in peril like that? He was certain Sora wouldn't look at him the same way again. What was Roxas suppose to do? Keep apologizing? Not even mention the incident? Pretend he doesn't remember? Say he was under the influence? State that Ventus was the one who kissed him and not himself? Gosh! His mind was a whirlwind of conflicting emotions right now! How could he ever-

"Roxas."

He gasped lightly at the soft murmur interrupting his thoughts. "U-Uh…" He cleared his throat, making his tone as normal as possible. "Yeah, Ven?" his voiced croaked a little, and he hoped to the heavens Ventus thought it was due to sleep deprivation on his end.

"I almost forgot to tell you," he heard Ventus turn around, probably to face him, "goodnight."

Roxas blinked for a second then smiled warmly to himself. He was glad his brother was safe and sound in the bed beside his and not off getting himself in trouble somewhere like he thought he was. He was so worried about his relationship with Sora that when he came home it didn't even dawn on him to maybe _call_ Ventus. He shook his head and drifted his eyelids to a close, replying gently before his brother began to snore, "Night, Ven."

* * *

_Don't Tell!_

* * *

"Who the_ hell_ made the sun so bright?" The dark haired teen squinted his eyes, a hand shadowing over his orbs to block some of the early morning rays. He grunted, rolling over so his face was down on the mattress and he placed a pillow over his head. He figured he could sleep in a little longer. Class didn't start until eight 'o clock anyways.

Just when the raven was drifting his eyelids back to a close, his alarm clock went off. "Goddammit," he groaned and dropped his arm off the side of his bed to reach for the source of the annoying buzz. He fumbled with the clock tiredly, long enough to get heatedly pissed off and rip the plug from the wall. The alarm ceased sharply and Vanitas took a few moments before he rolled himself out of the bed. He yawned, stretching his muscles when he heard Xion call,

"Vanitas! Phone!"

He blinked and walked out of his room. "Who is it?" he called from the hallway.

His sister leaned out of her doorway, a small lime tank-top over her chest with matching baggy pajama pants. She held her phone slightly away from her ear. "It's mom."

Vanitas's eyes narrowed in confusion. "She couldn't just call me?"

"Like you would answer," Xion extended her arm and Vanitas walked over to take the call. She watched him hold the phone up to his ear.

"What?" He listened for a moment. "…No. …I'm about to go to class. …I'm not retarded. …What attitude? …Yeah. I'm fine." He glanced at Xion, "She's okay too." His nose scrunched," Well, as much as she ever will be." The teenage girl frowned, but continued listening to him speak, "…What? …Why? …Not really… Whatever."

The raven seemed to be finished talking when Xion opened her mouth to ask what Tifa said before Vanitas began speaking again, "Hey. …Nothing much. …Well, what about you? …Hmph, of course. …Yeah. …Pfft, I wish. …It's broken. …As in demolished. …I know. It costs me a fortune. …I wanted to. …Some freakin' kid. …Nah, he's like my age. …Yeah, I was mad. …Not much, just my arm. …'Course not. I'm not a pansy. …Right. …I will. …I can't right now. …Because I don't-" the raven paused looking over at his eavesdropping sister. "Can I help you, Xion?" He held the phone partially away from his ear.

She rocked back and forth innocently. "That's not still mom, is it?"

"No, it's Vincent."

"Dad?"

"Same person, isn't it?" Vanitas heard murmuring over the phone and placed it back to his ear. "…Yeah. …Never mind. …Okay. Bye."

"Wait! I wanna say bye to mom and dad too!" Xion called and Vanitas looked over at her.

He handed her the phone. "Better hurry, before he hangs up."

She quickly took it and placed it to her ear, "Dad! …Yeah," she laughed a bit. "I just wanted to say bye… Okay. Tell mom I said bye too. …Mm-hm. We're doing great! Living on your own is fun! …Yeah… I love you guys… Wait, dad!" Xion held the phone out again and Vanitas gave her a weird look.

"What?"

"Tell mom and dad you love them too before they have to go," she shook her cell in front of his face.

"Oh, how could I forget?" Vanitas took the phone and Xion smiled before her cell phone beeped as he clicked end-call.

"Vanitas!"

"Don't be stupid, Xion," he tossed the phone up into the air as he began walking away and Xion scrambled forward to catch her Blackberry.

She pouted, "You're so mean. You hung up on mom and dad when you're supposed to let them know you love them!"

"Why? Just because they're my parents? Because they gave birth to me? I didn't ask for them to have sex and have me, so they shouldn't expect anything special in return."

Xion frowned, "You don't love mom and dad, Vanitas? …I do."

The raven stared forward. "Why are we even having this mushy conversation, Xion? It's seven o'clock in the morning."

The girl watched her brother head towards his room. She knew he wasn't one to use the cursed four letter word lightly, but she figured that he did love their parents. He had to, right? It was their parents. Xion sighed at how hard her brother was to decipher sometimes. "Gee, I wonder if he'd at least say he loves _me_," she snorted before jogging after him. "Hey, Vanitas!" She continued when he turned around, "What's for breakfast?"

"Whatever your two hands can form in that kitchen."

"But I've cooked all week. It's your turn."

"I'm not even-" Vanitas's stomach then growled and he glanced down, giving a scowl as Xion snickered. He didn't feel like nor had the time to make something to eat. If he had his motorcycle he could just grab a quick bite at some nearby restaurant, but he didn't have that anymore, thanks to a certain someone. Vanitas's glowering eyes widened slightly. But how could he almost forget that in its place he did have something, or more definably, _someone_ else.

* * *

_Don't Tell!_

* * *

"I'm…so…_tired_," the youngest blonde plopped his head down on the cool kitchen counter top making a low _thud_ sound. "Why…? Why do we have morning classes?" he asked, complete exasperation in his voice.

The other blonde, hair sticking out messily, opened his mouth to reply with something similar to '_stop being lazy_' or '_you shouldn't have come home late_', but seeming as he was equally tired, simply shrugged, "I have no idea." He slowly trudged pass his twin in his white collared T-shirt with grey star sleeves and dark grey shorts. Ventus replied with a groan as his face smeared against the counter top and his eyelids were drowsily drifting back to a close.

"You're gonna get drool on it," Roxas stepped over to nudge him off, but ended up dropping his head down on the surface next to him. He could feel himself about to fall asleep as well when he heard a low rumbling sound. Lifting his head up, he saw it was his phone vibrating on the kitchen table where he had placed it that morning. "Ugh…" He tramped over and snagged it up to his ear lazily, not bothering to look at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Roxas! Wow, I feel like I haven't heard your voice in so long!" The girl beamed over the line. "You sound tired."

"Xion?" Roxas's eyes widened as he stood up straight.

"_Xion_?" she repeated, putting a hand to her hip. "Don't tell me I'm getting foggy in your mind. Aww, Roxas, am I?"

"No. 'Course not," he smiled showing his teeth. "You just never call me since I gave you my number, soooo…"

"I tried!" she exclaimed in her defense, "But I found out it was the wrong number. No wonder it kept saying '_the number you are trying to reach is not available right now. Please, leave 404-516-7977 a message_," she mimicked the auto-tone. "And here I thought you were too lazy to leave a normal voicemail."

"Pfft, no. I definitely say my name in my voicemail," Roxas laughed. "So is that why you're calling? To see if the number was right this time?"

"Of course! I had to see if it was legit and whaddah ya know? It is!" Xion chimed. "Much thanks to your twin. He's really nice."

"Ventus?" Roxas raised a brow. "You met him?"

"Uh-huh."

Ven's eyes widened as he lifted his head up from the counter. "When-" Roxas started just before he was tackled down to the tiled floor. His phone flew out from his hand as they hit the ground and Roxas rapidly blinked his eyes open. "Ah! What are you doing?" He writhed underneath him.

"U-Uh," Ventus blinked before wrapping his arms around the other's neck, "I just realized I haven't hugged you in awhile, Roxas!"

"What? You hugged me, like, last week!" Roxas pushed the teen off to the side and sat up, rubbing his back. "Ow, this floor is hard, Ven," he groaned, tossing the blonde a scowl before glancing around, "Where's my phone? If you broke it…"

"That's Xion on the phone, right?" Ventus watched Roxas spot his cell near the kitchen doorway.

"Yeah," he eased into standing up.

"Oh! I wanna talk to her!" Ven swiftly jumped to his feet and scooped up the cellphone before running upstairs to their room. He ignored Roxas's call as he closed the bedroom door behind him, leaning his back against it. "Xion!" he held the phone up to his ear, "You can't just tell Roxas I met you! I'm sorry, but I don't want him to know I was over at your place, 'cause that also means I was over at Vanitas's and I already asked about him once, so that's gonna raise a whole bunch of questions that I don't want to get into and-" he stopped his flow of words once he realized there was oddly no response. "Xion?"

"Guess again, idiot."

Cerulean eyes widened at the recognizably smooth voice. "V-Vanitas!" It was the first time the blonde actually used his name towards him.

A smirk spread across the other's face. "So you're worried that twin brother of yours might find out, huh? Aw, how _cute_," he teased callously.

Ventus growled, "Where did Xion go?"

"You make it sound like I tied her up and threw her in a corner," he said nonchalantly. "She's right here complaining about how she wants her phone back." The raven would occasionally push the flailing girl away with his palm.

"Well, why don't you give it back to her then?" Ven retorted, "I don't wanna talk to _you_."

"You don't have to. Just listen and obey. I need you to get over here and make some breakfast."

"What?" Ventus's mouth dropped. First, clean his room and now cook for him? How did he get himself into this mess!

"I shouldn't have to repeat myself."

The blonde's voice rose, affronted, "You can make your own food! I'm not your caterer."

"You're right. You're even better. My servant," the raven pitilessly continued to remind him.

Ventus's jaw set into a frown. "Can't Xion make something?"

"Oh, you want my sister to do manual labor now?" Vanitas inquired, "How heartless are you? And she said you were _nice_," he scoffed as if it was a joke.

"T-That's not what I meant!" Ven exclaimed defensively, "I just-!" He paused and then exhaled exasperatedly.

The smirk plastered on the raven's face. "Be quick. I might wanna go to class on time today."

Ventus was about to reply when a long beeping noise stopped him. "…Hello?" He blinked then looked down at the phone. Call Ended.

The bedroom door clicked as someone on the outside turned the knob and Ventus quickly leaned off the door, turning his head to see his brother. Roxas looked at him for a prolonged second before gesturing his hands widely, "What the hell was that about?"

"U-Uh," Ventus flinched a bit when Roxas snatched his phone back from his hands. He glanced up at his annoyed looking twin and gave a nervous chuckle, "I guess I just got a little excited there for a moment."

Roxas was looking down at his phone, examining it for any scratches before he glanced up, blinking twice. "Excited?"

Ventus caught the expression on his twin's face. "W-Well, n-not like that!"

The older twin nodded slowly. "So what's up with you and Xion?"

The blonde silently sighed. _Here he goes with the questions._ "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Ven, you snatched my phone from me to talk to her," Roxas stated like there was no need for further explanation as he stood in front of him.

"Oh, well…she just seems like an interesting girl," Ventus tried not to make eye contact. "She is your good friend, right?"

Roxas nodded his head. "She said you guys met? …When was that?"

"U-Um…on my way to Lea's I ran into her on the street. That's when I gave her your number." He looked back at Roxas, figuring that avoiding his eyes wasn't a very convincing action.

"Oh…" Roxas glanced down before looking back up. "Do you…like her?" He added when he saw the puzzlingly look across Ven's face, "I mean, like…like-like her. You know?"

"N-No!" Ventus waved his arms out in front of him, "I would've given her _my_ number if that was the case. She's just a cool person. That's all."

"Okay…" Ventus a noticed a weird look on his brother's face, but it didn't look like jealousy. "I didn't even get to say bye to her."

"O-Oh, um, sorry," he fidgeted. "She said she had to go…and that she'll call you back later," he added optimistically. He was sure Xion probably would call Roxas back. Hopefully, not to ask anything about him though.

"Oh, alright… I'll apologize about my crazy brother later then," Roxas smiled slightly and Ventus laughed. "You know," Roxas continued, "Why _didn't_ you just give her your number when you gave her mine apparently? You seemed pretty eager to talk to her."

"I don't know…" Ven crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, "I guess I wasn't thinking of that." He unfolded his arms and poked Roxas's shoulder. "Why didn't you get her number when she got yours? Then she wouldn't have to be sad about not talking to you in awhile."

"Yeah, yeah. But we were both in a hurry, so I only had time to call out mine really quick. I guess she didn't hear me correctly since she was off by a couple digits." Roxas pondered back to the high school days. "And here I thought she just didn't feel like talking to me."

Ventus smiled, shaking his head from side to side, "Nope. You guys are friends," he chuckled quietly, "I'm jealous."

"What? Why?" Roxas looked at him oddly. "It seems like you guys are friends too, right?"

"Yeah, but…you have such close friends, Roxas. Like Axel and Xion and Sora."

The older blonde flinched at the last name, looking to the side. "What are you talking about? You make friends easier than I do, Ven. _I'm_ jealous." Ventus glanced up in surprise, never hearing this little bit of information before. "And besides," Roxas looked back at him, "What about Terra and Aqua? They're your best friends, right?"

He fiddled, "Yeah, but…sometimes I just feel like a third wheel between them…" Ventus glanced down, remembering countless times when one of them would tell him to stay home or that he wasn't old enough to go where they were going. That's what he got for having older friends, he guessed…

Roxas watched him frown. "Stop sulking, Ven," he patted his back, "Everybody loves you. Especially me."

Ventus smiled at the statement, but begged to differ. He could think of one person who seemed to like nothing about him except how he was fun to torture. He shrugged it off, however, and looked up, showing his smile for Roxas's sake. "Thanks, Roxas. I don't know what I'm saying."

"You sure don't," Roxas smiled back comfortingly. "Now come on. We have to get to class."

"…Right." Ventus contemplated just how he was going to get to Vanitas's house now. If he walked with Roxas to school, he'd be a little late to the devil's lair after he just said to be quick. But Ventus hardly cared what the raven wanted and if he wasn't under blackmail he wouldn't even think twice about going to his apartment. He took his bag by his bedside and dropped it over his shoulder. "Let's go."

* * *

_Don't Tell!_

* * *

Ventus was waving goodbye to his brother as he turned down the opposite hallway to one of his classes. After he had disappeared around the corner, Ven dropped his hand and sighed. "Sorry, Roxas," he murmured and went back to exit out the double doors they just came from. The cool air hit him and he shivered slightly, regretting not bringing a jacket. He crossed the parking lot and paused before going out onto the street. He really needed to find a different way to go to class because the road just gave him unwanted memories of why he was going to Vanitas's apartment in the first place. Ventus made his way to the other side before taking a left and following the path he had before to go to the teen's house.

After the some mile walk, Ventus stood outside the door and rang the doorbell. He waited a couple minutes, rocking back and forth on his feet before the door cracked open, revealing the dark haired teen. "You're late," Vanitas held one hand on the knob while he leaned the rest of his weight on the door frame.

"Well, I'm here aren't I?" Ventus flicked his eyes up at him. "I had to walk with Roxas to class."

"You didn't have to. You just didn't want to tell him where you were going."

Ventus paused before he inaudibly replied, "…That's not true."

The raven turned his head inside the apartment, "Xion, you have Roxas's number now right," he said more as a statement than a question.

The girl looked up from the small living room couch, averting her eyes from the television program. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just to inform him where his brother was last night and currently _is_ right now."

Ventus scowled, "No! Do not tell him that!"

Vanitas looked back at him, the amusement perceptible in his golden hues, "What's the problem? You just said it wasn't true."

"I…" Ventus growled irritably, glowering at the boy.

Vanitas snorted a chuckle, "You sure do lie a lot, don't you?" Ven glanced down for a moment. He didn't remember lying so much before. He usually left the deception to Roxas while he was the good twin. But now he was starting to lose count on how many lies he's told, in what? The past day or so? And guess whose fault that was! Ventus fixated his glare back on the teen in front of him.

"Don't glare too long or your eyes will get stuck that way," Vanitas dropped his hand from the door and stepped to the side. "I'm just making a point. I don't care enough to tell your brother, but it's just one more thing I have over your head."

Ventus's defiant stare softened as he blinked. Did Vanitas just _double_ blackmail him? GAAAHHH! The blonde murmured profanities as he shuffled pass the smirking teen. "What am I suppose to be making?" he grumbled.

"Something good." Vanitas turned on his foot walking over to the couch where a confused Xion sat.

Ventus rolled his eyes and turned into the kitchen. The walls were a dark wine-red color while a lot of the kitchen appliances were black. Were you even allowed to paint an apartment? The blonde shrugged, recalling their kitchen at home not being as bold. He found the cabinet with the pots and pans and took a skillet out to place it on the stove. He looked at it for a prolonged moment. …What was he suppose to make? He rummaged through another cabinet and found all the ingredients he needed to make an easy enough breakfast. Pancakes.

The blonde was in the midst of mixing the batter in a large bowl, trying not to get any splattered on his Fall Out Boy T-shirt when he noticed Xion walk into the kitchen. He glanced to the side and the two met eyes for a moment. He could only imagine what was on her mind right now. "Ven," she began lightly to Ventus's unease, "I know you guys are friends and all, but you cook for him too?"

He averted his eyes and set them back on the mixture in front of him, "Uh, you see…"

"Friends?" Vanitas leaned his head back on the couch to look into the kitchen doorway. "Who told you that?" he inquired, ignoring whatever was on TV.

Xion pointed a finger, "Ven did."

Vanitas looked from his sister to the blonde seeming overly interested in the batter in front of him. The dark haired teen paused for a second before speaking. "Why are you telling her lies?" he asked casually, knowing full well why Ventus was, before nodding his head, "Oooh, right. Because-"

"Do you like pancakes or flapjacks?" Ventus quickly interrupted, throwing some spoonfuls of batter into the heated pan.

Xion glanced back and forth at the two boys before she huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "Okay, what's going on?" She looked at Vanitas, "I heard you call him your servant over the phone. And when you were talking to dad earlier you said something about something that cost you a fortune being broken. And something about some guy your age and your arm," she gestured to the still bandaged limb before turning to Ventus, "And _you_ said you guys were friends. And what do you not want Roxas to find out?" She looked back and forth once more, impatiently waiting for some answers.

"You're such an eavesdropper, Xion. What an annoying trait," the raven flicked one channel up on the remote, but hardly looked like he was paying attention to what was on TV. "But," he turned away from the screen and stood up, walking into the kitchen, "I've got nothing to hide. The truth is-"

Ventus briskly walked pass Xion, "Excuse us!" he said, taking the teen's arm to pull him out of the kitchen with him.

Xion gave a perplexed expression while Vanitas surprisingly allowed himself to be dragged by the blonde beside the staircase. "What?" he questioned indifferently as they stood out of ear-shot from the girl.

"What are you doing?" Ventus hissed.

"I should be asking you that," the raven glanced towards the grip on his wrist and Ventus quickly dropped his hand.

"You weren't about to tell Xion were you?"

"I was. Who cares."

"I do!" Ven exclaimed angrily, slapping a hand to his chest. "She doesn't need to know that you made me your bitch!"

Vanitas cocked an eyebrow calmly, "So that's what you wanna call it? I was gonna stick to servant, but bitch works too."

Ventus's eyes narrowed as he spoke clearly in a hushed yell, "Don't tell Xion!"

"Whoa, last time I checked, I was the one giving the orders here."

"Please," Ventus frowned, "You already have me blackmailed. Do you have to make my life worse?"

"I can't believe you're complaining. You have an alternative. You chose this, I just offered it. Feel free to back down and just get sued if this is too much for ya."

Ventus felt the words tug at his heart and he almost felt like crying if he wasn't in the presence of the raven haired boy. He was right. He had choices. Two awful choices for him, but still choices. Whichever he picked was his responsibility to handle. He already decided that he couldn't allow himself to be sued, so he would just have to suck up whatever Vanitas had in store for him. How could he ask for Vanitas to lighten up on him when he was the one who nearly got him killed? Ironic how he was being punished for what he thought was the right thing to do...

Vanitas was staring at the blonde intently and Ventus couldn't tell whether his blue orbs were watery or not. Gawd, he hoped they weren't. How embarrassing. The blonde self-consciously rubbed at his irises with the back of his hand when Vanitas spoke, "I won't tell Xion."

"Huh?" Ventus glanced up.

"I said I won't tell Xion. Are you deaf?"

"…Or…anyone else?" Ventus questioned, gradually dropping his hand from his face.

"I won't tell anyone else either."

…It couldn't be that easy. Ventus knew it couldn't. Not with him. "Unless…?" the blonde began, waiting for the other teen to finish.

"No unless. I just won't tell anybody," Vanitas said, sounding annoyed this time. How many different ways did he have to tell someone one thing?

"Just tell me the truth," Ventus shook his head. "You're going to use this to blackmail me too," he gestured a hand, "so go ahead and tell me the terms to get it over with."

Vanitas looked at him strangely before shaking his head. "No, I'm not. Look, whether you want to believe me or not doesn't matter me. That still doesn't change the fact that I won't tell anyone. Now I'm not saying it again."

The blonde stared at the teen long and hard. "…I don't get you…"

Vanitas glanced up at him. "I'd be surprised if you did," his amber hues once again met cerulean.

Ven subconsciously licked his lips as he couldn't help himself from staring back. What the hell? It was just like when they were in the room. His heart was hammering in his chest again as an awkward silence fell over them. Ventus hoped the _bmp, bmp, bmp_ resonance wasn't as noticeably loud as it sounded in his ears.

It seemed way too long until the two broke their gaze when a sharp beeping sound made both of them turn their heads. Xion hurried over to where they stood, "Ven, your food is burning!"

"Ah!" The blonde rushed into the kitchen and was immediately wafted by the smoky smell. He coughed while he turned off the stove burner. Reaching for the skillet handle to remove it from the heat, he sharply drew his hand back, "Ow, ow, ow!" he blew on his fingers. Vanitas walked into the room, reaching up and taking the batteries out of the aggravating smoke alarm on the ceiling.

Xion trotted in and opened the kitchen window to let the burning smell escape into the outside. She fanned a hand in front of her nose, "A little longer and that might've caught fire." She stopped and folded her arms, looking at the pan with blackened pancakes. "Well, so much for breakfast."

Ventus frowned, now sucking on his fingers. "There's still some more batter," he murmured before taking his hand out of his mouth.

Vanitas waved a hand, "Forget it. I'll just buy something at school."

The blonde looked at his creation disappointingly. Not that he was aiming at making an impression or anything; he just couldn't help but feel a little crappy. He unexpectedly voiced his thoughts, "I feel bad."

Vanitas glanced at him before stating, "It was probably gonna taste like shit anyways."

"No, it wasn't!" Ventus countered, though slightly unsure.

"It's okay," Xion patted the blonde's shoulder, "I don't think boys were meant to cook anyways."

"Your food is nothing to brag about either, Xion."

"Hey!" the girl frowned at her brother. "Anyways, we're gonna be late if we stay here any longer." She eagerly motioned a hand towards the front door. "Where's your motorcycle, Vanitas? I didn't see it in the parking lot."

Ventus worryingly gave the raven a look before the teen shrugged and Xion blinked. He really wasn't going to tell her anything? Not even some kind of excuse? Ventus turned to the teenage girl, "Um, you should try walking, Xion. You can't always fly by everything. You know, stop and smell the roses, as they say," he smiled.

Xion's face fell. "You make it sound like I'm fat."

"N-No!" Ventus waved his arms in front of him, "You're not! That's not what I meant at all!"

Her frown curled up into a smile and she giggled. "I'm just kidding. You know, you might be right about that. But…we'll be late."

"Who cares," Vanitas stated. "They never say anything important in the beginning anyways."

She bit her thumb nail in thought, "Well…okay." She grinned, looking at the boys who were already ready to go. "Wait a second! Let me grab my jacket from upstairs!" she ran up the steps to retrieve the article of clothing.

Ventus looked over at the raven standing coolly with his hands in his pockets. "…You didn't tell her it was broken?"

He shrugged, "She'll probably just piece the puzzle together herself anyways. She heard me over the phone with Vincent. I'm surprised she hasn't figured it out already. Missing bike, hearing about something that cost me a fortune being broken, another thing about a guy my age and my arm," Vanitas glanced down at his bandages.

"You think she will?" Ventus voiced in concern. "She already said she heard you call me your servant over the phone." Ventus glowered slightly at the fact that Vanitas _could_ leave certain words out when he was talking on the phone in front of someone.

"Yeah, if that isn't an obvious clue I don't know what is."

"But she can't find out! You said-"

"I said I wouldn't tell her, as you just saw. What she figures out is on her own."

Ventus frowned, "You can't say things to throw her off? Or_ not_ say things like calling me servant over the phone? So she doesn't find out?"

"I didn't agree to any of that." Vanitas scoffed, "And unlike you, I don't really care if she does find out."

"Yeah, because you're the one in charge!" Ventus scowled childishly, "There's no shame on your end of the deal."

"Maybe you just need a little bit more apathy in your life. You care too much about what people think."

"I-I do not!" Ventus blushed angrily. Where did he get at thinking he could knit-pick his personality?

"Look, Xion is going to come to some kind of answer to satisfy her curiosity. She may guess right, she may guess wrong. Who gives a fuck," Vanitas stated just as footsteps thudded down the steps as Xion arrived back in to the room, her Abercrombie jacket flailing behind her.

"Okay, I'm ready!" she pulled it on over her upper body.

Vanitas opened the front door and Xion followed him out while Ventus mused over what Vanitas had told him. He shook his head, praying that she didn't guess right before he carelessly locked the door behind him on his way out, in his force of habit.

They went down the path Ventus previously walked. "Do you guys go to Twilight University?" he asked to no sibling in particular.

"Yeah," Xion answered. "Is that where you're going?"

"Uh-huh…" Ventus said. Great. The odds _would_ be that he and Vanitas attended the same college. Just great. …But he'd never seen him there before, so they probably took totally different courses. Maybe even at completely different ends of the building. The school was rather large. There was probably nothing to worry about.

* * *

**Thank you to TheAnnoyingVoice, Lionwings, OmniaVanitas, zackslittlepuppy, MeeSheeMuFFin, FuneralBelL & kc creation FOR COMMENTING LAST CHAPTER!**

**A/n**:_ Thanks TO EVERYONE for reading! How was it? This chapter was long, huh? Gawsh ._. The next couple might be a minute. I think I should write a couple chapters ahead, to see if it all flows & makes sense before I get too ahead of myself on the uploads xD Please, post your opinions. Leave __**REVIEWS~!**_


	4. Day 2: What's mine, Stays mine

**Disclaimer**_: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. MeeShee and I wish we did, but we don't xD_

**Rating/Genre**_: T, but possibly M in the future. Romance/Drama/Humor_

**A/n**_: This chapter took forever~! D; But that's only because I have school work, peeps & lengthy chapters. 8,127 words? My longest one yet, my gosh. I swear I need to fallback a little on my writing, whadda ya think? Oh, yeah. Plus I said I was going to write chapters ahead before I uploaded this, in which I did. I'm just gonna say that Chapter 5 makes me laugh, but no spoilers :D Thanks to ConverseG1rl for being my beta for this chap & thanks to my sister for catching me up on law & other facts xD Now, please read, enjoy and review!_

* * *

_90 Days_

_Chapter 4:_

_What's mine stays mine_

* * *

Standing across the street from the University, Xion was humming her ringtone happily to herself on the sidewalk. She was waiting for cars to pass while Ventus was rocking slightly back and forth on his feet, relishing in the warm, sunny rays against his skin in which he hadn't felt in awhile during the cool autumn season. He smiled to himself, enjoying his surroundings as he looked around. Glancing to the side, he noticed the teen out the corner of his eye and turned his head to see the girl's brother staring intently in the direction behind them. "…What?" Ven questioned hesitantly, his eyes following as Vanitas walked over to the tree. Ventus blinked twice in confusion before it dawned on him, "Oh. That's where…you crashed your bike, right?" his voice grew small as the question- meant to be a statement -lingered off his tongue.

"Yeah." Vanitas answered shortly, walking around the tree like a tiger scoping out his territory. "But the question is, where the hell is my bike?"

"What are you guys looking at?" Xion glanced back over her shoulder as she pointed a finger forward, "Come on. The road is clear now." She waited a moment before exhaling frustratingly when she saw they weren't paying attention and then trudged over to where they stood.

Vanitas stopped and stared before his eyes narrowed and he tossed Ventus a look who immediately shrugged unknowingly. "Don't look at me," the blonde flicked his eyes to the side. There was still an unmistakable dent in the tree from where the motorcycle had slammed into it, so it wasn't like Vanitas was looking in the wrong spot. Besides, Ventus couldn't forget the area where the accident happened, even if he wanted to. "You left it here yesterday?" he asked in a tone that further questioned '_why?_'

"Yeah, it was raining and I didn't wanna lug it home in the rain." He looked back at where his motorcycle use to be. "But I guess _that_ was a bad idea," Vanitas ran a hand threw his dark locks mumbling something that sounded like _'stupid._'

Xion frowned, tilting her to the side. "Lug what home in the rain?"

"You don't think somebody took it do you?" Ventus asked, glancing around. He couldn't see it anywhere in sight.

"Took what?" Xion repeated, looking from Ventus to her brother.

"Probably, with how society is nowadays," Vanitas answered the blonde hardheartedly.

Ven frowned, "Well, there's gotta be something you can do to get it back."

"Yeah, I could kick the ass of the motherfucker that took it," he said irately, giving a clench of his fist.

"Don't you think that's a little out of line?" Ventus suggested, always being more of the pacifist type. "Why not just-"

"What are you two talking about!" Xion positioned herself between them and the two glanced over at her before exchanging looks with one another once again.

"Xion's right," Ventus moved forward, changing the subject. "We need to get going now that the road is clear."

Vanitas looked from him back to the tree and groaned. Where the hell was his bike? And what made him so stupid as to leave it there like it was supposed to be perfectly safe next to a busy street? "Fucking idiot," he growled before walking ahead, fists jammed in to his pockets.

"What's wrong?" Xion asked, following behind him, but received no answer.

* * *

_What's mine stays mine_

* * *

Entering the college, Ventus was about to turn to his right when Xion spoke aloud, "Wait, you go to class that way?"

Ventus looked to the side at her before he gave a small smile. "Yeah, my class is down here," he pointed a finger.

"Aw. You can still walk with us," the raven haired girl suggested, motioning a hand, "If you don't mind turning back around later."

"No, that's alright." Ventus's smile fell a little, "I'm sorry, but I'm already late as it is."

_Then why did he come over to make breakfast?_ Xion wondered. She huffed before giving a grin, "Oh, alright then, I understand. Bye, Ven!" She waved a hand widely before turning around. "Hey, Vanitas! Wait up! You didn't even say bye to Ven!" she trotted off after her brother.

_Like he would_, Ventus scoffed. He then turned to walk to his own class. Advancing down the hallway, he raised a brow noticing that the classroom door window looked rather dark. "Again…?" He made his way over to the door and peered through the window before parting his face away from the glass. The room was vacant and the lights were all off. He rattled the doorknob to realize the door was locked as well. "I don't get it… I couldn't have gotten my schedule wrong again." Ventus rested a hand on his chin thoughtfully before he turned on the heel of his foot. He decided that maybe somebody at the front office would know what's up.

Pushing open the office doors, a young blonde lady behind the front desk looked up to greet him with a smile. "Hello. Do you need anything?"

"Yeah, um," he walked forward, "what time is Economics 2?"

She gave him a funny look in which Ventus didn't quite understand what for before she answered, "Hmm, let me see…" She slid her chair towards her computer and quickly typed something in. "Oh, that class is in session right now." She looked up at him through her glasses, "It started at eight 'o clock."

"This morning?" Ventus scratched his head. The class shouldn't be closed then. "But I went to the classroom and it's not open. It wasn't open yesterday either," he added.

"Really?" She raised a brow questioningly. "What room number?"

"173."

"Oh, no wonder." She typed something else into her computer just to make sure. "That class has been moved. To room number…266."

"Really?" Ventus blinked in surprise. "Why would they move it?"

"Well, the one in 173 was a relatively small class anyway and another teacher taught that economics with few students, so we decided it was best to merge the classrooms together some days ago."

"Oh… I didn't know that."

"There was a notice on the school website."

_Why not an announcement on the intercom or at least an e-mail? _Ven mused before nodding his head. "Okay. Thanks a lot for the help!"

"My pleasure," she smiles as he waves a hand goodbye and exits out the double doors. _Let's see… Room 266… _Gee, another place he had to find. He walked down the left side of the school's entrance towards the 200's hall. Scanning his eyes back and forth down the foyer he spotted the room he was searching for. _Awesome._ He stopped in front of the door after a nervous feeling crept inside him. That's the thing he hated about being late. Right when you open the door, everybody's head turns to stare at you and the teacher impatiently puts you on the spot as to why you're not on time. …Well, if you were as unfortunate to have the professors Ventus has had in the past, but maybe this new instructor deserved the benefit of the doubt.

Ven reluctantly placed his hand on the knob and turned it, pushing the door open. As expected, heads turned to the motion and Ventus glanced around the large room at all the eyes on him. It was just like he thought. _Why do people always_- His thoughts broke off when his wandering gaze focused on one student in particular.

"VANITAS?"

Students made questioning faces at the teen that referred to the raven by first name. Ventus flicked his eyes around embarrassingly and he noticed the teacher glaring at him as he muttered an apology. The professor coughed, "Alright. I see you're well acquainted with Mr. Valentine in the back."

_Valentine? That's his last name?_ "Oh, no!" Ventus immediately defended, feeling his face grow hot. "I just…didn't expect to see him in here." The blonde made an effort not to look at said teen as he faced straight towards the teacher with long, brown hair and scolding emerald eyes.

"Right, well, life does have its surprises." The professor flipped through his roster. "I'm Professor Vexen." He didn't even look at Ventus. "What's your name? I don't see anyone new on my list."

"Oh, it's Ven, sir. Sorry, I'm from the other-"

"Okay, what's your full name?"

"Uh," the blonde blinked upon getting interrupted, "Ventus Strife."

"Are you from the old Economics 2 class?"

He gave a nod, "Yes, sir."

"Okay…" The older man penciled his name in. "Please take a seat. I'll dismiss your tardiness for today, but next time, do make a stronger effort to come to class _on time_."

"Yes, sir," Ven turned and looked up. Why did people have to stare at him? He was glad when the professor continued his lecture on the board and most eyes averted from the blonde towards the lesson. He gave a polite smile to the few that still looked his way and made the mistake of turning his head towards the direction where Vanitas sat in the back right corner. His smile quickly fell from his face as the raven was looking back at him and Ven turned his head to take the empty seat in the back left corner, opposite from his. He took out his books from his bag, placing them on his desk. Of all the classes that 173 had to be merged with, it _would_ have to be one with Vanitas in it. Ventus sighed softly as he dug through his bag in search for a pencil when a weird feeling crept up on him. It was sort of like that feeling when…when someone's staring at you?

The blonde glanced up, scanning the class, but everyone was facing forward intently except for Vanitas who was looking rather bored, yet attentive writing notes. Ventus paused for a moment before he shrugged it off. He located a pencil and began flipping through pages of his textbook. Looking up at the board, he softly read the page numbers written in marker, "Two hundred and fifty-five…" He put his attention back on his book when the feeling crept back. He lifted his head up again, yet no one was looking at him. He flicked his eyes towards Vanitas who was now tapping his pencil lazily.

Ventus slowly averted his eyes. What the hell? _Am I going crazy? _He shook his head. "I'm just being paranoid," he murmured before ripping a sheet of notebook paper from his binder and glancing up at the board once more. He tilted his head down, jotting down notes when that unshakable feeling came back, but he would try his best to ignore it this time.

Only some seconds passed when he began tapping his foot and couldn't disregard it anymore. The blonde jerked his head to the side and his eyes widened when he caught the golden gaze on him. He blinked, staring back at the black haired teen before he gulped. He would _not _have this staring match with him again. Just to spare his fellow classmates from the resounding _bdmpp_,_bdmpp_,_ bdmpp _resonance in his chest. Ventus was about to tear his eyes away when Vanitas mouthed something to him.

"…Huh?" Ventus made a perplexed expression. Vanitas said the words again and Ventus tilted his head in confusion. "I can't hear you," he whispered back, tapping a finger to his ear. Vanitas rolled his eyes and shook his head as to indicate '_never mind._' "Wait," Ventus whispered back, "What did you say?" His curiosity was increasingly getting the better of him. Vanitas faced forward and Ventus took a moment before moving his attention forward as well at the leering green eyes.

"Is there something you'd like to share with the class?" The teacher crossed his arms impatiently.

The room went dead quiet as students turned around to see who the instructor was talking to. Ventus briskly tossed Vanitas a nervous glance. "Um, no… Not really."

The man continued, "Well, it's got to be pretty important for you to have said it while I was talking."

"A pencil dropping is a more important sound than you talking," Vanitas spoke up nonchalantly.

Ventus looked towards the dark haired boy surprisingly and the teacher narrowed his eyes. "Mr. Valentine, please no interruptions in my classroom."

"Take your own advice. The class wasn't even paying attention to us until you decided to stop your whole damn lesson to ask a dumbass question. If anyone's interrupting your class it's yourself."

Mr. Vexen glared angrily. He had tried to deal with Vanitas before, but nothing he ever said or did would faze him. How he wished that one day something could break the teen's calm, cool and confident demeanor. With a mumble, the teacher placed his marker back to the board, "Anyways…"

Vanitas sneered, "Simpleton."

The students gazed at him as if he was some sort of amazing enigma and Ventus was staring at the raven as well before he realized he needed to concentrate as he joined the rest of the class who averted their attention back to the lesson. It seemed like forever until only a couple of hours passed and Mr. Vexen announced, "Okay! For the remainder of the class period we will be working on the study guide _silently_. However, you may raise your hands to ask me any questions while you're here." _The remainder of class? _Ventus glanced down at his study guide uninterestingly then glimpsed at the screech of a chair scooting back. Vanitas stood up from his seat, collecting what few things he brought under his uninjured arm.

"Where are you going, Mr. Valentine?"

"None of your damn business."

Ven's eyes followed the boy walk across the front of the class. "…Hey, wait!" he called and Vanitas blinked before shifting his attention towards him. "…U-Uh…" Ventus lowered his outstretched hand. Why in the world did he just say that? Wait for what? "Um…" Ventus felt the heat rise in his cheeks, probably staining them a crimson color while the class stared at him. He lowered his eyes down to his desk embarrassingly. What was he suppose to say!

Mr. Vexen appeared highly irritated as his eye twitched. "I can see how you're familiar with Mr. Valentine. You both like to interrupt my classroom. Well, I'm really losing patience for your interruptions, Mr. Strife. I'm going to have to ask you to leave, so students who actually come to_ learn _may do so."

"What? It's not like that! I mean, I do too! I mean, I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-"

"Save your excuses." He jabbed his index finger towards the door, "Out."

A frown plastered on Ventus's face as he slowly stood up, gathering his things in his bag. He never got kicked out of class before. He shuffled pass the observing students to the front of the room. Making an attempt to overlook the final glare the teacher gave him, he followed Vanitas out the door.

* * *

_What's mine stays mine_

* * *

"Why do you look like someone died?" Vanitas asked, looking over at the blonde as they walked down the hallway.

Ventus's eyes were set on the ground as he sauntered forward. "…I feel like an idiot," he admitted solemnly after a moment. "I made an embarrassment of myself on the first day. Talk about a first impression…"

"Well, you are an idiot, so the impression fits."

"I am not!" Ventus jerked his head up to scowl at him.

Vanitas disregarded the remark as he looked at him keenly, "Why did you tell me to wait?"

Ventus paused as his eyes widened slightly. "Oh, uh…" Why did he? It was like the million dollar question. Did he not want Vanitas to leave? Did he want to walk home with him? Ventus shook his head. He had to keep ridiculous reasons like those out of his mind! "I don't know…" he decided to say and figured it was the safest answer, but safe from what?

Vanitas narrowed his eyes into a puzzled expression. "And you say you don't get _me_."

"W-Well, what were_ you_ saying? In class I mean, when you were mouthing something."

Vanitas tossed a hand, looking to the side. "Nothing really. Moment's passed."

Ventus raised his eyebrows curiously, "So? I wanna know."

"Too bad. Learn how to read lips."

"Vanitas!"

"And you wonder why the class thinks you're associated with me."

Ventus blinked, making a further confused expression. "What do you mean? What for?"

"You call me by my first name while everyone else in there calls me Valentine."

Ventus frowned. Well, that was only because that's what Roxas told him his name was. He didn't know his last name until some hours ago. Besides, he's been referring to him as Vanitas since the teen took the phone from Xion. "So," Ven continued, "what's wrong with your first name?"

"You tell me," Vanitas said sarcastically. "Nah, it's probably 'cause I intimidate them. I can't imagine why." A cocky smirk spread across the raven's lips. "Whadda you think? The golden eyes or the biceps?"

Ventus looked back at him attentively. He could see why someone might be a little…timid around Vanitas, but he never saw the teen's golden gaze as intimidating. Heart-racing and breath-catching, maybe. But not frightening. If the blonde hadn't already been so close to his face when he fell on top of him, he would've sworn Vanitas wore contacts. As for the teen's body, scary wasn't what crossed his mind when he looked at it. If staring at it made him nervous, it was probably because…well, he didn't really know, but he knew it wasn't out of fear… Who knows, maybe it _was_ normal to think Vanitas was intimidating and Ventus was either weird or tougher than he thought. The blonde blinked once as an odd feeling snuck up on him. It wasn't like the one he got in the classroom when someone was watching you, but one familiar to his reaction when he first saw the teen take off his helmet. Cerulean eyes narrowed looking upon the teen as if he were trying to figure something out.

"You know, generally when someone asks you a question they want you to answer, not stare at them."

Ven's eyes widened before he dropped his attention towards the floor. "I-I wasn't staring!" Gawd! Why couldn't Vanitas gaze at _him _for a change? Not that Ventus wanted him to or anything, nor did he think there was much to stare at compared to the raven, but at least the looks wouldn't be so one-sided. The blonde bit his bottom lip, slowly peering up. Although…he did feel somebody staring at him in class and he did finally glance up to see Vanitas's eyes on him. Who was to say it wasn't _Vanitas_ looking at him?

"What?" The teen narrowed his orbs.

"N-nothing…" Ven shook his head. _Don't be stupid, Ven. It was probably just some other student looking at you, being the new addition to the class and all_. "Hey," the blonde wanted to change the subject to stir the awkward atmosphere, "Where's Xion? Are you going to go get her?"

"Nah, her class doesn't end until two hours from now."

"Oh."

They turned a corner and exited out the front doors. Walking across the parking lot, Vanitas looked across the street before scowling. "Damn, I can't believe I was so stupid as to leave my bike there." He clenched a fist regretfully, gritting his teeth. "I could punch somebody right now," he stated bluntly. Ventus flicked his eyes towards him before he took a couple steps to the side. In that situation, he could see why Vanitas's muscles might cause intimidation.

Still, Ventus couldn't help feeling a little guilty. Even if it was Vanitas's fault for leaving it there, if he hadn't jumped in the way the bike wouldn't have crashed in the first place, therefore being an open target for theft. "…Hey," Ven chimed in, getting a solution for the situation, "I got an idea! I'll call the police." He smiled as he took out his phone from his pant's pocket when Vanitas grabbed his arm.

"You better not." The raven looked at him sternly.

"Why?" Ventus looked back at him, first in confusion before a scowl replaced his features.

"Because I said so and you have to do what I say," Vanitas said. "It's my bike and if I don't want it to be reported missing than it won't be reported missing, understand?"

"But police deal with stolen or missing objects like this all the time. You could get your motorcycle back." Ventus glanced at his cellphone in his hands, not quite understanding what was the problem here.

"If you try to dial that number, I'll make sure you don't have an opposable arm to dial with."

Ventus's eyes widened in shock before he glowered, "Is that a threat?"

Vanitas looked at him and then released his grip from the boy's arm. "It's a promise."

The look of annoyance showed clearly on Ven's face. Ughhh! He was just trying to help _him_ out, but fine! See if he ever did anything for him deliberately again! Ventus folded his arms over his chest irritably. That's why he could never allow the teen's stunning appearance to façade his cold personality. That's why Ventus could _never _allow himself to fall for him.

* * *

_What's mine stays mine_

* * *

The two were advancing down a straight road in silence when Ventus noticed the shops they were passing by. "…Hold on a minute," the blonde said inaudibly, turning to the left.

"What?" Vanitas turned his head towards that direction, hands resting in his pockets. He watched Ventus open one of the glass store doors and walk inside. Vanitas looked for a moment before he exhaled and walked in after him, ignoring the chime as he entered.

"Oh, another one. Hello." A young woman leaned to the side to look pass Ventus at the counter.

Vanitas glanced back at her to at least indicate he acknowledged her presence. Ventus rolled his eyes while still facing forward. _Can't he just say hi?_ "Excuse me, could I get a job application?" He pointed a thumb behind his shoulder, "I noticed the hiring sign you had outside your window."

"Why sure," she smiled down at him. "Actually, a lot of people have already applied, but I have to say you're the cutest one I've seen." Ventus's eyes widened as he blushed slightly, not seeing the glare Vanitas gave the store clerk. She looked at the raven for a split second before quickly averting her eyes back down to the counter. Bending down to take an application from the desk drawer, she murmured, "O-Oh, uh…" She shuffled through papers before standing straight again, "I have to go check the back for more apps. Do you mind waiting a second?"

Ventus shook his head from side to side and the lady smiled at him before leaving through a back door.

"…Got tired of being broke?" Vanitas asked nonchalantly as his eyes left the back door to the blonde teen.

Ventus frowned, "…I just wanna help Roxas out. I can't believe…I've been letting him pay rent all by himself." A saddened expression fixated on his face. He turned around from the counter to look at Vanitas, "What about Xion? Does she work?"

"Of course she works. I'm not paying for everything while she just mooches off me, even if we are related."

Ventus looked to the side. Was that what he's been doing all this time? Mooching off Roxas? He didn't mean to. He thought they'd be alright when Roxas decided to get a job and Ventus wanted to focus on finishing school first. He actually thought that by graduating from college early, he'd be able to get a full-time job while Roxas could take a break from working. But he didn't even think how selfish that was in the mean time. Wonder if Roxas had other things he wanted to spend his money on instead of bills for himself and his freeloading twin? Ventus sighed heavily at the realization. Why was he always so late at figuring things out?

The back door cracked back open when the clerk returned to the front of the store, a stack of papers in her hands. "Here you go," she put the sheets down on the counter and then handed Ventus one.

"Thank you," he took it. "Uh, is it okay if I fill it out here?"

"Sure. Here's a pen," she handed the writing utensil to him and Ventus murmured another '_thank you_.' He quickly filled out the page before handing it back to her. "…Does your…friend want one?" she questioned uncertainly as she looked at Vanitas who went to flip through some magazines on one of the coffee shop's shelves.

"N-no," Ventus glanced back at the raven for a second. It was bad enough that Ven had to do whatever he said and now went to class with him. He didn't need him as a co-worker too.

"If you say so. I think he'd decline anyways," she said, judging on the glare he gave her earlier. Ventus nodded his head, not really knowing why she looked worried for a second. "Well, I'll make sure to recommend you to the manager," she smiled at him. "You seem really sweet. I'm sure you'd bring in a lot of customers."

"Really? Thank you," he beamed before taking a couple steps away from the counter and waving a hand.

The clerk waved back. "Bye! I hope you get the job!"

"Me too," he added then looked over at Vanitas. "I'm done. We can go now." The raven continued flipping through the magazine. "Vanitas, did you hear me? I said we can go," Ventus walked over to him.

"I heard you, but I'll leave when _I'm _done." Ventus frowned in response. After a minute, Vanitas put down the article and turned to walk out the door with Ven following behind him. "You should've had a job before when I said you were gonna pay me back," Vanitas pointed out as they walked down the street.

"What difference would it have made?" Ventus mumbled bleakly, a bit bothered that Vanitas was bringing this up.

"I wouldn't have offered the alternative of being my bitch, duh."

Ventus blinked as he turned his head, "So if I do get this job and pay you back for your bike, I won't have to be your bitc- I mean, servant anymore?"

The raven looked back at him intently for a moment before he shrugged a little, "Maybe."

"Yeah!" A grin spread across the blonde's face. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"It seemed like common sense, idiot," Vanitas said coolly, rolling his eyes. He looked at the fair-haired teen, an unknown emotion flickering in his golden orbs. "You seem really…eager to get out of this blackmail."

"Of course," Ven smiled obliviously. He clapped his hands lightly as he looked forward down the street. "I don't wanna be with you."

The blonde expected a smartass remark like '_good_' or even '_likewise_', but instead he received no words at all at first. Looking to the side, he saw the scowl formed on Vanitas's face. "Alright then why did you tell me to wait when I was leaving the class?" the raven posed the million dollar question.

Ven's eyes widened, surprised he was bringing that up again. "I-I already told you, I don't know."

"You don't seem to _know_ much of anything do ya? And stop following me home then since every chance you get away from me is blissful. I'm pretty sure _Roxas's_ apartment isn't this way."

Ventus drew back a little. Where'd the sudden anger come from? "W-Well, _fine_. I don't even know why I'm walking this way anyways."

"Again, you don't _know_ much of anything," Vanitas retorted coldly while Ven glowered. Stupid Vanitas! GAH! He had to be one of the only people on Earth that Ventus just _could not _get along with! He would pay him back for his bike, so he could get out of this stupid blackmail and…he'd never cross paths with him again!

Ventus was about to stomp off the sidewalk when a vehicle stopped in front of him. "Agh!" Ven quickly caught himself before losing his balance and he looked up. _What the heck?_

"You punks know where Twilight University is?" the man asked, sitting on the motorcycle. Ventus stared at him for second. He looked really familiar… Skull cap…short, stomach-revealing shirt… How could he forget? It was the guy that Roxas hated! Seifer.

"You had to pass it to get here, dumbass," Vanitas walked up behind Ventus.

Seifer glared at him. "Alright, asshole. A simple _'back the way you came'_ would've sufficed."

"Says the guy who rolled up calling us punks." Vanitas glanced down, black brows raising as his eyes widened. "Nice bike…" he spoke nonchalantly looking at the motorcycle, "Where'd ya get it?" Ventus looked from Vanitas to the ride before his eyes enlarged as well. _Wait, could it be…?_

"Oh, this thing?" The young man looked down, "That's not really any of your damn business."

"Ah, really?" The dark haired teen tilted his head to the side to get a better look at the name encrusted on the side of the clutch. "…Who's Vanitas?"

Seifer snorted, "Probably the poor sap who use to own this bike. I really need to get that dumb name removed before people get the wrong idea."

"What do you mean?" Ventus asked and Seifer shifted his attention towards him.

"Ah, Roxas's brother. What? Are you as dumb as he is too?" Seifer decided to boast despite Ven's scowl. He stepped off the bike, "I actually stole this thing, twerp." He patted the black handle bar, arrogance and pride occupying his face.

Vanitas spoke as if he was greatly impressed, "Wow. It's not often you get a chance to steal a motorcycle. Where'd you find this?"

The man sneered, "Crashed into a tree a couple blocks down actually. It was just my luck to come across it."

"Crashed?" Vanitas pointed a finger leisurely, "It looks in good condition to me."

"Of course I had to…_hire _someone to fix it up for me."

Ventus recalled how demolished the ride had looked. "Gosh…they had to be pretty skilled," he gazed at the vehicle.

"The things people are capable of when they're threatened," Seifer smirked. "And to think the idiot just left it there."

"When 'cha get it?" Vanitas asked.

"Yesterday. It was raining, but who cares. Even more reason to snag it before it got rusty. All I had to do was get it fixed up and it was so easy." Seifer's grin widened, "Now it's all mine. Free of charge."

"But isn't that illegal?" Ventus chimed in.

"You say that like I should care." Seifer frowned at the blonde before he sneered, "Maybe you are as dumb as your damn brother."

Ventus shot a nasty glare at him. "Roxas isn't dumb. You are. What happens if the police catch you with a bike not registered under your name?"

"I have my fair share of dodging the feds. Trust me, this will be no different." Seifer stepped forward, the cocky grin spreading back on his lips, "And you better watch who you're calling dumb, punk, or you'll get hurt."

"I guess I'll take my chances," Ventus retorted courageously. "Did you even think about the person who owns that bike?" He gestured a hand towards it, "They're probably looking for it."

"They can cry themselves to sleep for all I care," the man smirked, "I'd like to meet the dumbass who owned this," Seifer began to laugh wickedly. A loud and resounding sound that made Ventus understand why his twin hated him so much, "just so I can tell 'em how retarded they are!"

"Well, I'm all ears," a voice hissed.

Turquoise eyes enlarged as Seifer turned back to Vanitas, his laughter fading off his tongue. "…What?"

"You wanted to tell me something? How retarded I was?" Vanitas took a step forward as Seifer took a step back. "Well?"

The man growled, "I'm not scared of you, kid." He tensed his arms to show off the muscle he possessed.

"That's why you're backing up, right? What's the matter?" A smirk spread across Vanitas's face. "You act all big and bad, but we all know you're nothing compared to me. Hell, Ventus here isn't even scared of your petty threats." The blonde looked at Vanitas in surprise, not quite sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. The black haired teen grazed his fingers over his motorcycle.

"Don't touch my bike," Seifer warned viciously.

"You seem to be confused with your use of pronouns."

"You little punk," the young man spoke lowly in a growl. His teeth were clenched and his eyes were deadly.

"I have to say, thanks for fixing it up for me," Vanitas said mockingly as he continued, "and to think I was going to buy a new one. Looks like I won't have to walk home anymore."

"Yeah, because you'll be _limping_ home!" A gasp escaped Ventus's throat as Seifer went for a punch. Vanitas's eyes reflected something murderous as he caught it with his right hand and Seifer cursed aloud before swiftly getting socked in the jaw. Ven's eyes widened as the man stumbled backwards and collapsed onto the street. The blonde couldn't deny that he actually felt a little bad for Seifer, but he should've seen that coming. He never expected Vanitas to be the type to pull his punches. The dark haired teen cracked his knuckles looking down at him, only wincing slightly at the pain that surged up his injured arm.

A car came approaching down the road and Ventus looked from the vehicle to Seifer holding his jaw on the street. "H-Hey! MOVE! Before you get hit!"

Seifer groaned, shifting his head to side. His eyes widened as he yelled out profanities gathering himself up and jumping onto the sidewalk just before the car zoomed by. Vanitas got on top of his bike indifferently and Ventus looked up at him. Even though he thought it was crazy how Vanitas nearly got somebody hit by a car and didn't seem to care, he really hoped the raven wasn't going to leave him there with an even crazier and pissed off Seifer.

The once piercing amber eyes mellowed out as he glanced down at Ven from the ride. "Get on."

The blonde blinked. "Huh?"

"Why do I always have to repeat myself with you?" Vanitas jerked his head to the side to indicate what he had said. Ventus stepped forward and reluctantly climbed onto the bike behind Vanitas. "Hold on," the teen said and Ventus wrapped his arms around the boy's waist. The last thing he saw was Seifer opening his mouth to shout something before the engine roared to life and his surrounding blurred as they began to speed down the road.

Ventus subconsciously tightened his hold so he didn't fall off. "You drive really fast."

"It's a motorcycle. You expect me to go twenty-five miles per hour?"

"…No," he murmured. He sat mutely before he felt something warm drip on his arm. "What the-?" Ventus glanced down to see blood running down the raven's arm. "Vanitas, I think your wound opened back up," Ven looked at his unraveling red-stained bandages.

"I realized that after I punched that guy. Hell, I should have laid him out sooner. Taking my damn bike. I have to disinfect the seat now," Vanitas grumbled before he glimpsed at his arm, "I'm not concerned about this. It doesn't hurt too badly."

"But what if you bleed out?" Ventus asked with a hint of panic in his voice.

"I'm not going to bleed out from now until the ride home," Vanitas scoffed amusingly. "I don't know why you sound so worried."

Ventus blushed, "I-I'm not. I just don't want your blood dripping all over my arm."

"Well, you could put your arms on my shoulders like most guys would, instead of around my waist like a girl."

The blonde's face flushed, "W-Well, it's too late now! As fast you're going, I'm afraid I'll fly off onto the road if I take my hands off for even a second!"

"Maybe you _should _take your hands off then," Vanitas teased and Ventus frowned.

It was strange riding on a motorcycle, on _Vanitas's _motorcycle no less. The wind whipped his golden spikes from his eyes and he felt the adrenaline speeding down the road, a cool breeze brushing against his bare arms and face while the warm blood still dripped on his arm. The sensation was odd enough to make his head start spinning. He never thought he'd be this close to Vanitas again, practically hugging him from behind. Ventus exhaled, resting his head on Vanitas's shoulder despairingly as he replied, "Asshole."

The raven glanced over his arm slightly before putting his attention back on the road. He was beginning to find out that something about how the blonde would fight back was rather interesting. It was invigorating from the usual reactions he got from other people in his life that would quake to him in fear or just end up boring him. At first opinion he thought Ventus was just some heroic kid who would spew about doing the right thing and so on. And he indeed _was_, but there was a lot more fire to the blonde than that… Vanitas found himself smirking as he turned a corner.

Ventus was resting on his back silently before something dawned on him. "Ah, crap!" he quickly lifted his head up.

"What?"

"H-Hey, could you go to my house?"

"…You want me to go to your house?" Vanitas questioned strangely.

"Yeah, I mean, because I need you to drop me off there. I'm supposed to be home before Roxas and if I'm not, I'm going to have to think of another lie."

"And this is a problem because…?" the raven trailed off like he didn't quite understand the issue.

"I don't like lying to him," Ventus glanced down, "At least not if I can avoid it."

Vanitas rolled his eyes. "I told you, you care too much."

"Or maybe you just care too little," he countered.

"You better watch what you say. I can drop you off right here if I want to."

Ventus frowned. He just needed to get home. "I'm sorry. Just take me home. Please?"

* * *

_What's mine stays mine_

* * *

The motorcycle pulled up in front of the apartment and Ventus stepped off the vehicle. "Thanks for the ride, I guess."

"You guess?" Vanitas raised a brow. Ventus shrugged. It felt weird thanking someone who had you blackmailed, despite _what_ they do for you. He glanced down at the concrete between his feet. His mind was telling him to walk away now, but for some reason his body was still standing in place. "What?" Vanitas looked at him. "I hope you're not expecting me to say '_you're welcome."_

"No," Ventus retorted.

"Well, you want something."

"I-I don't want anything from you." Ventus turned away when Vanitas spoke,

"Hey." The blonde turned back around surprisingly and Vanitas beckoned a hand, "Give me your number."

"…Why?"

"Why do you insist on asking stupid questions? So I can call you if I need you to do anything, duh." Ventus glanced up at him hesitantly and Vanitas clarified, "It's not like I'm gonna call you all the time. You don't want to be around me that much, right?" He remembered the blonde's words of '_I don't wanna be with you_.'

Ven's lips parted slightly in a surprised expression. He frowned and opened his mouth to say something before he clamped it shut again. He went into his pocket and fished out his phone, handing it over. Vanitas began putting the number into his phone's contacts while Ventus spoke, "So…since your bike is fixed, do I still have to pay you back for it?"

Vanitas looked up at him. If he said no, then Ventus would still have to do whatever he said, but if he said yes, he would get his money's worth back, but then…he wouldn't have Ventus around anymore. Vanitas stopped putting the digits in for a second. Why the hell should that matter? "You better believe it," he answered, "Just because I got lucky, doesn't mean the same goes for you. You owe me about five thousand dollars for that bike." He glanced up at him after adding the number to his contacts.

Normally Ventus would exclaim '_five thousand dollars!_' like it was a ridiculously high number for a bike, even if it was a rather nice one, but between his guilt and his personality he merely replied, "Okay." Ventus held his hand out to retrieve his phone as Vanitas gazed back at him steadily. "…What?" Ven questioned softly.

"Nothing." He tossed the blonde his phone back and he was about to press down on the gas pedal when Ventus called,

"Hold on!" Vanitas glanced back at him. "What I said earlier…about me not wanting to be with you… I was just…over exaggerating. I didn't mean it."

Vanitas looked at him in astonishment for a second. "…Are you saying you _do_ like to be with me…?" he questioned oddly.

"I-I didn't say that. I just mean what I said might've been a little out of line. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything."

"What makes you think you hurt my feelings?" Vanitas's eyes narrowed as something irate reflected off the gold hues.

Ventus shrugged, unable to look him in the eye. "I'm just sorry I said it, okay?"

Vanitas stared at him fixedly before he shifted his eyes forward. The teen pressed down on the gas pedal and sped down the street as Ventus looked up to stare after him. The blonde was about to murmur something under his breath when he heard a familiar voice call his name. Jerking his head to the side, he saw Roxas standing on the steps.

_Crap._

* * *

_A BIG thanks to: _**TheAnnoyingVoice**, **Lionwings**, **KonataIzumi1**, **chocollate**, **OmniaVanitas**, **zackslittlepuppy**, **myxs**, **XTwoHeartsX**, **kc creation**, **ConverseG1rl **_& _**shadowdolls**_! I hope to hear from you all again this chapter! :D And any new reviewers are very much appreciated! xD_

**A/n**: _I'm never writing this much in one chapter again x_x -dies- lol Watch me do it again though. Eh, next chapter probably won't be as long... _

_Random note, I think Vanitas Valentine sounds cool. Why don't KH people have last names like FF people do? I was thinking about making Zack their dad, but he's so sweet. I wanted someone that would support why Vanitas is the way he is, but maybe that's simply because he's Vanitas XD I also considered Noctis, but I barely know his character. Actually, I barely know Vincent's aside from Advent Children. But at least I know his last name unlike Noctis. What is it anyways? _

_...Erm, drop a comment :D I know I've written chapters ahead, but still post your commentary, ideas &/or questions. They help! What I have in the next chapter I didn't even think of until my sister suggested it to me & a couple of people on here said it in a review. And it was so obvious too, I didn't even consider it. Wow. Can you guess what it is? lol See you guys in Chapter 5! Review, review, __**review~!**_


	5. Day 3: Talk about a Lose Lose

**Disclaimer**_: Nope. Still do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its original characters._

**Rating/Genre**_: T, but possibly M in the future. Romance/Drama/Humor_

**A/n**_: Sorry. This chapter was supposed to be posted like...weekends ago xD But I swear, I re-read my work like 5 times before I'm satisfied with it D; One more time after it's been beta-d. Speaking of which, a big thanks to ConverseG1rl for reading this over for me and a huge thanks to my twin MeeSheeMuFFin for inspiring me with ideas! lol Credit goes to her on the fish idea :P_

* * *

_90 Days_

_Chapter 5:_

_Talk about a lose-lose situation_

* * *

The temptation Ventus felt not to walk over to his brother was strong, but the realization that he wasn't left with many other options was stronger. He forced a smile as he waved a hand, "Hey!" The blonde sauntered forward off the parking lot to pass his twin and open their apartment door.

"What was that?" Roxas asked, turning to the side as Ven turned the knob and pushed the front door open.

"What was what?" Ventus walked inside the house.

Roxas made a narrow-eyed expression as if the answer was obvious. "You being on Vanitas's motorcycle," he gestured a hand towards the lot before following Ventus into the kitchen.

"Oh," the younger blonde said as leisurely as he could. Opening the refrigerator, he bent his knees while pretending to look for something. "He was just dropping me off from school. Turns out we have the same class."

Roxas raised a brow, "You do? Since when?"

"Since…I found out that my economics class was combined with another class that he's in." Ventus took out a can of Dr. Pepper and popped the top off.

The four minute older brother crossed his arms and glanced up at the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment. "Oh, so…why did he drop you off?"

Ventus took a long sip of the carbonated liquid before he gulped and parted the can from his mouth, unhurriedly wiping his lips with the back of his hand. "…I asked him too." He placed the soda back on the shelf with a soft _thud_. He should have nothing to feel guilty about. It was the truth. Maybe the only few he's told Roxas in the pass couple days.

"You asked him too?" Roxas repeated oddly. "And he just agreed out of the goodness of his heart?" doubt colored the blonde's voice.

Ventus gave a slight shrug. "For whatever reason, yeah. So now I'm here."

Roxas stared at the back of his twin for a moment. He really had a hard time believing that Vanitas, the guy he went to high school with who just _possessed_ a bad aura, just gave his brother a ride home just because he asked him to. "He didn't ask for any…favors or anything in return?"

"N-No!" Ventus exclaimed, knowing his brother probably meant along the lines of something sexual. "Roxas, he just gave me a ride home. That's it."

The teen nodded his head slowly. He was relieved to hear that, but something still drew his curiosity. "Why'd you even ask him? Since when did you have a problem with walking?" Roxas cocked a brow questioningly. "You know, stopping to smell the roses, you can't always fly by everything. Remember that?"

Ventus looked through the fridge for any more food to occupy his mouth. He asked Vanitas in hopes to get home before Roxas like he was suppose to, but since lady luck seemed to dislike him at this point in his life, he would have to settle for something else. "Um," the blonde spotted a half-eaten Twix candy bar on one of the top shelves. Taking it out, he bit into the chocolate as he pondered his next sentence. "…I just felt like getting a ride today," he answered simply while he chewed unusually slow.

Roxas tilted his head to the side, trying to look at his face. "Well, what about tomorrow or the day after that?"

"I don't have class tomorrow, Roxas. Besides…dat warsh prabably a onesh in a lurftime tang," Ven murmured, another bite of the caramelized bar slurring his words.

"What?" Roxas turned him around by the shoulder. He glanced down at the golden wrapper in Ven's hand. "Is that my Twix?" Ventus stared back at Roxas for a second before he shrugged lightly. The older twin shook his head, "Okay, whatever. I don't care if you eat it, but-" He paused as a thick red liquid caught his eye. "Oh, my goodness..." Roxas moved his hand down slightly, eyes widening. "Did he hurt you?" his voice grew louder as it held a worried, yet vengeful tone.

Ventus immediately followed his brother's gaze as it led his cerulean hues down to his arm. "N-No!" Ven quickly shook his head. "No, he didn't hurt me." The blonde smeared some of it off with his palm, "This is his blood actually."

Roxas's expression of revenge slowly melded into that of confusion. "Did you guys get into a fight?" His voice drifted off puzzlingly, "…You made him bleed?"

"What? No!" _Well, not directly._ Ventus decided he could tell Roxas this much, just to avoid the topic of where Vanitas's injury_ initially_ came from. "_We_ didn't fight," the younger twin assured him. "But…we did run into Seifer."

Roxas's face then quickly mirrored annoyance. "Ugh, I hate that guy," he growled with a roll of his eyes. "_He_ didn't hurt you did he?" He flicked his eyes up and down as he glanced Ventus over.

"No, I'm fine, Roxas. No bruises, no cuts, no broken bones, nothing." Ven waved his arms, indicating he was okay.

"You lie." Ventus blinked at the response and Roxas lightly grabbed at his left arm, "You have a cut on your arm right here."

Ventus looked down at it. The accident. He barely noticed it was there since it didn't really sting unless it was scrapped against something, like the carpet of Vanitas's bedroom floor. "Oh, yeah. I tripped on my way back home yesterday," Ventus stuck out his tongue, appearing embarrassed.

"It looks like it hurt," Roxas made a face as he dropped his hand. "But I'm glad to hear that's all it was or I seriously was going to pay a visit to Seifer _or_ Vanitas." Ventus laughed nervously. He hoped _that_ encounter never happened. Roxas mused for a second before he asked, "Did Seifer want something?"

"He just asked where Twilight was," Ven shrugged, closing the fridge behind him so he could lean his back against it. "But you probably know how he is already. He's not the nicest of guys. And with Vanitas there…eh, their personalities just don't mix."

"Well, I never would've expected your guy's personalities to mix either, but there you are getting a ride from him."

Ventus's cheeks heated slightly, "Doesn't mean we get along. In fact, we argue a lot…"

"…Since when?" Roxas looked at him funny, the statement drawing some suspicion.

Ventus quickly covered up his words. "I'm just speaking hypothetically. If I was around him more, I'm sure we'd argue a lot."

"Right…" Roxas nodded his head leisurely and then gave a smile. "I'm just glad you're alright. I was wondering where you were when I got home and you weren't there."

Ventus glanced up at his twin before looking back down at the tiled floor. He hated lying to him. It almost made a sickening feeling in his stomach like he just ate something rotten. "…The teacher was lecturing for awhile. Plus I had to catch up on notes and stuff…"

Roxas stared at him for a second before he snorted a chuckle, "Oh, I know how that goes." His laugh faded as his smile fell slightly. "I just didn't expect to see you on Vanitas's motorcycle." He eyed Ventus attentively while he slowly spoke, "There's not…something I should know about going on is there?"

Ventus bit his bottom lip self-consciously. He could take this time while Roxas's full attention was on him, standing directly in front of him, no one else around them to interfere while he told his twin the truth, but…he couldn't. He just couldn't. Maybe Vanitas was right and he did care what people thought, but Roxas wasn't just _people_, he was his twin brother. And he_ did_ care what he thought. "Uh, no. Nothing at all," Ventus answered, to his concern, a little less confident than he should have. There was a delayed silence before Ven glanced up and poked his twin's side jokingly. He was tired of being the only one interrogated right when he walked through the door and he wasn't fond of the awkward silence between them either. "What about you, Roxas? Is there anything _I_ should know about?" He smiled, yet he didn't think he helped the tension as Roxas's face suddenly reddened.

"Uh, no. Why would there be?" He shifted his eyes to the side and Ventus blinked once in bewilderment.

"…Just asking."

* * *

_Talk about a lose-lose situation_

* * *

The next day, Ventus laid on his bed in the late morning. The sun beamed into the room as the blinds were fully opened and the window was slightly cracked, making the air from the outside create a calming and clean atmosphere. The blonde's phone was pressed to his ear as he conversed with his friend, kicking his feet up and down anxiously. "So when are you coming back?"

"Soon," the blue haired, twenty-two year old girl answered with a smile. "Grandpa Eraqus is feeling better, but I wanna stay just for a little bit longer to make sure."

"Aw," Ven ceased kicking his feet as they plopped down on the mattress. "…Well I'm glad he's feeling better." He tried his best to smile.

"Me too. Speaking of which, how've you been feeling, Ven? Terra's not back over there either is he?"

"No…" Ventus's face fell yet he tried to keep his voice upbeat, "but I've been alright. Don't worry."

Aqua frowned. "I'm sorry we've been gone so long. I hope you haven't missed us too much."

"Of course I have. You two are my best friends."

"Aw, Ven." She smiled warmly as if Ventus could see the sincerity on her face. "You're our best friend too. Don't forget that." He merely nodded and when Aqua didn't hear a response she continued, "…So what's new?"

Ventus ignored the thought of a certain dark haired male rushing to his mind. "U-Um…nothing much. Same old, same old."

"Is school going well for ya?"

"It's been alright." Ventus glanced up at his popcorn ceiling, thinking back to his class mix up and the new teacher he recently got. But he didn't feel like going into detail on how awful his first day of that class went. "It could be worse," he shrugged to himself.

Aqua chuckled softly. "Just keep working hard at it and stay positive, Ven. Trust me, it feels great once you graduate." Ventus could only imagine. Four years of college was like another four years of high school instead of with professors and not having school every weekday. Oh, and it wasn't free. "How about things at home?" Ventus made a perplexed expression as Aqua spoke, "Are you and Roxas doing alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine… I'm actually trying to get a job to help him out."

"Has he been nagging you about the bills?" Aqua inquired as a joke.

Although, it went over Ventus's head. "Nuh-uh," he said, recalling times of Roxas sitting at the living room table writing out checks without giving Ven so much as a single complaint. "It just makes sense for me to help pay." His voice sounded strained. He hated thinking how he could let Roxas pay for the apartment by himself. If he could go back in time and change that, he swore he would.

"You're a good kid, Ven," Aqua admitted after a moment. The blonde stared to the side at the sky blue wall. He was hardly considered a kid at eighteen years old, but sometimes he really did feel like one between Terra and Aqua, and sometimes even compared to Roxas. It was a bummer from time to time, but maybe he just needed to except that he was young at heart. The light haired teen started getting lost in his thoughts when Aqua posed a question, "So…do you have a girlfriend?"

"What?" Ven's eyes widened as he snapped back into the conversation. His cheeks dusted a light shade of pink. "N-No."

"Oh, I was just asking since it's been awhile since I've seen you." A smile spread across her delicate face, "Come on, Ven. You could make someone one lucky girl. Do you like anyone?"

Ventus didn't blink for a moment as he stared at nothing in particular. "No," he answered shortly.

"Do you know if anyone likes _you_?" Aqua edged on.

Ventus thought about the answer to the question until he easily came to the conclusion of '_how am I supposed to know_?' "No," he answered shortly again, yet with more certainty in his voice? Aqua tapped her chin considerately. She knew Ventus always to be one oblivious to people's affection towards him. He was a lot like Sora in that department so she wouldn't be surprised if someone actually did like him and he just didn't know it. A pretty girl perhaps? …Maybe when Aqua came back, she would investigate the real answer to her question. "What about you, Aqua?" Ventus asked to the girl's surprise and she listened intently. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Now it was her turn to blush. "U-Um…yeah..."

"Seriously?" Ventus sat up from his bed in shock, not expecting a positive response. "Who?"

Aqua paused. "…I don't think I should tell you over the phone."

"Do I know him?" A childish grin spread across the blonde's face. He didn't think she'd say yes to his question, but since she did, Ventus was highly interested in who his best friend was dating.

"Yeah..." Aqua admitted hesitantly. "But, Ven, I'll tell you la-"

"Is he tall?" Ventus placed a hand under his chin as he pondered possibilities.

She exhaled, "Taller than you and…a little taller than me…"

"Is it Zack?"

"No," Aqua scrunched up her nose. "We didn't even really date. We only went out for a friendly dinner that one time because he insisted."

"Oh, right…" Ventus contemplated. "Uh…Axel?"

"Isn't he gay?" Aqua asked, not intending to sound offensive.

"What? No way!" Ventus then wondered about it for a moment before he shrugged uncertainly. "Well…I don't know. Roxas knows him better than I do." He waved the question away, seeming not to want to get too deep into the topic.

"I'm sure," Aqua murmured before she spoke up, "Well, no. It's not Axel."

"Then…Demyx?"

"No," the young woman sighed over the line. Ventus was about to take another guess when he heard someone talking in the background and then Aqua saying a muffled, unclear response. Her voice became comprehensible once she put the phone back to her ear, "I don't mean to keep you guessing, Ven, but I have to go now. My Grandpa needs some help in the garden."

"Oh, alright… I'll talk to you later then, Aqua!" She said her goodbye before she hung up and Ventus slid his phone shut with a _clack_. Dang it and he wanted to find out who it was… "She'll probably tell me later." Ventus placed his phone on the stand beside his bed before throwing his legs off the side of the mattress and standing up. He lifted his arms high over his head as he stretched. It was nice talking to her again and he hoped she would come back soon, along with Terra.

The bedroom door then opened as Roxas leaned his head through the crack in the doorway, "Hey, Ven. I'm about to go to work. You said you didn't have class today right?"

Ventus shook his head horizontally, looking over at him. "Nope."

"Alright. I'll be back at the usual time," Roxas was about to close the door when he paused. "Will I expect you to be home when I get back or are you going out again tonight?"

Ventus shook his head once more, "N-no, I have nowhere to go. Don't worry."

"I'm not saying you can't go out." Roxas frowned, feeling a little guilty if he's been on his twin's case too much. "I'd just like to know when you do. Send me a text or something, so I don't think you're missing somewhere."

"Right. I will," Ventus smiled.

"Good," Roxas returned the gesture with a slight wave of his hand, "Bye, Ven."

"Later." Ventus watched as their door shut. He had an empty schedule today. No school, no job, no Roxas. How was he supposed to pass the time? The blonde was about to return to his bed when his ringtone went off. Turning his head, he picked it up from the nightstand and tilted his head to the side. He didn't recognize the number. Ventus clicked talk and reluctantly put it to his ear, "Who's this?"

"So it _is_ your number, Ven!" Came a happy giggle.

"Xion?"

"Yeah, it's me. Glad you recognize my voice. I recognized yours."

"Did you get a new cellphone number?" Ventus could've sworn when she called Roxas it was something different.

"No. This is Vanitas's phone," the teenage girl snickered. "He said he was going to take a shower and he left it on the couch and I'm bored, soooo…" Xion gave a shrug like there was no need for further explanation.

"Yeah, you and me both," Ventus huffed exasperatingly, not even making a comment on her using her brother's cell.

"You're bored too? Hey, you should come over! Oh, and bring Roxas!" Her voice rose excitedly as she nearly jumped up from the couch she sat on.

"I can't. Roxas just left to go to work."

"Awww!" Xion leaned back on the sofa disappointingly. "That guy needs to stop being so busy," she mumbled. "Can you still come over?"

"Um, yeah..." Ventus scratched his head. "But I don't know how long it'll take since your house is a couple miles away."

"No worries. I saw Vanitas's motorcycle parked outside. I guess he got it back from the shop or something," she decided and Ventus was thankful that _that _was how she explained it being missing. "I'll ask him to go pick you up once he gets out of the shower."

Ventus blinked. He just told Roxas yesterday that it probably would never happen again, despite whether his brother could understand him with his mouth full or not. Still, he couldn't bring himself to ride on the back of Vanitas's bike another time, especially after the raven just got out of the shower probably smelling like Irish Spring soap. Why that was something that would make him hesitant to ride with him, Ventus wasn't quite sure. Of course, he could also not want anymore blood dripping on his arm... Ventus refused to let the rationalization that Vanitas probably changed his bandages by now waver his decision. "That's okay. I don't mind walking."

"Are you sure? That'll take longer." Xion sprawled across the arm of the couch and flailed, "I'm so bored, Ven!"

Ventus laughed softly. "Don't worry. I'll be there before you know it."

"Alright…" She exhaled dramatically before she laughed, "I'll see you soon."

* * *

_Talk about a lose-lose situation_

* * *

Ventus could hear the echoing _ring_ from inside the apartment after he pressed the doorbell and waited outside complex 606. He heard footsteps thudding down the wooden stairs in a quickened pace and feminine voice call, "I got it, Vanitas!" The door soon cracked open and Xion smiled at him. "Hey. Come in!" She took Ven's arm and pulled him through the doorway.

Vanitas walked down the stairs, a towel draped over his dripping black locks and wearing only his pants and the boxers underneath them. "Who's at the door this-" He looked up at Ventus and raised a brow. Pointing his index finger at the blonde teen, he stated imperturbably, "I didn't call you."

Xion answered before Ventus could utter a response, "I called him. I was bored, so I asked Ven to come over."

Vanitas looked from Xion to Ventus then back at his sister. "Don't you have other friends?"

"Of course," Xion frowned. "But Kairi's at work and Naminé's in class and Axel is busy and Roxas is_ always_ busy. They're living the lives of college students." She pouted, glancing down at the floor sadly before she looked back up. "And why don't you have clothes on? You're not supposed to come downstairs undressed when we have a guest, Vanitas." She placed her hands on her hips like she was scolding him.

"Whadda you call these?" Vanitas tugged at his pants. "And it's my house. I'll wear or not wear whatever the hell I want." He stepped off the last step and eased into walking pass them. At a glimpse, Ventus thought his hair looked even darker when it was wet while he also noted the raven had a new strip of bandages around his arm. Ventus observed Vanitas for a second before he looked down at the space between his feet. He would stop his perceiving eyes right there before they wandered to the teen's bare chest. Vanitas, seeming to notice the blonde's sudden uneasiness, smirked to himself as he stopped in front of him. "So you have nothing better to do, but to hang out with my sister?"

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean?" Xion's expression matched Ventus's as she scowled.

Vanitas ignored her as his eyes still laid on the blonde in front of him. Ventus wasn't even sure why he came over to the apartment. He liked Xion just fine, but he should be taking _advantage_ of the times he didn't have to be near Vanitas. "Don't you have something better to do besides talk to me?" he retaliated.

Vanitas clicked his tongue. "I can't really take your comebacks seriously when you can't even look me in the face," he stated coolly. The blonde could practically see the smug look on the other's face without even looking up.

Scowling, Ventus lifted his head. "Look, I came here to hang out with Xion, not talk to you."

"Ah, the kiddies wanna play? My bad. I didn't know it was recess." Vanitas turned around. Noticing his phone on the arm of the living room couch, he scooped it up in his hand before he was about to head upstairs. Xion's and Ventus's expressions softened from irritated to worried as they exchanged glances when Vanitas stopped close to the top of the steps. "…How'd you get Ventus's number, Xion?" He looked down at his cell intently as he questioned.

"Uh, Ven gave it to me when he was adding Roxas's number to my contacts. He put his in too." Xion looked troublingly towards the blonde to secure the lie, quickly nudging him with her elbow when Vanitas wasn't looking.

Ventus glanced at her before he nodded his head in agreement, "It's true."

Vanitas shot the two a narrowed eyed look. "For your sake, that better be true." He turned around and walked up the last couple steps before turning into his room. Xion watched until he was out of sight.

"That was a close one," she exhaled in relief. "Vanitas might be kind of mad if he found out I looked through his phone." Xion scratched her cheek idly with one finger. "But it wasn't like I was going through his messages or anything. Just his contacts." She tossed Ventus a smile, "Thanks for backing me up there, Ven."

"No problem," Ventus smiled slightly. It was another lie, but he had a feeling they weren't going to stop there. Besides, if they were directed towards Vanitas, he didn't feel too bad. He sighed softly to himself.

Xion assumed he was exhaling out of boredom. "So what do you wanna do, Ven? Do you like videogames?"

"Yeah, they're fun."

"Okay, I have a Wii upstairs. Wait a second; I'll bring it downstairs so we can play on the big screen!" Xion fled up the steps into her room. She unplugged the system from underneath her desk and came back down the stairs trying to support the heavy Nintendo in her arms. "Ugh, okay… Here." She placed it on the floor beside the TV with a _thud_.

"Is it heavy?" Ventus moved over to the television.

"Yeah, but nothing I can't handle." Xion smiled and set up the system to the flat screen. "Do you like Mario Tennis?"

"Yeah, I played against Roxas before when we were at Sora's house." Ventus's smile fell faintly. Not like _that_ happened much anymore. Ven wondered when the three of them hanging out became more of Roxas and Sora together instead…

Xion disregarded his far-off expression, "Great. Kairi or Namine and I play sometimes. I like playing against them better than with Vanitas because he always wins. Stupid masculine edge," she murmured as she turned on the game. Ventus nodded slightly in agreement, though he hardly paid attention to what she said.

A couple hours passed as they battled in a game of Mario Tennis and the teenage girl breathed heavily, "That's it. I'm never playing against a boy again!"

Ventus laughed as he made one last swing and the screen blinked '_WINNER_!' "Hey, I think I just got lucky. You're not easy to beat, but I sure am," he plopped down on the sofa behind them. "You wanna call it a break?"

"Yeah, sure." The overly cheery background music ceased when Xion turned off the system.

Ventus stood up from the couch, holding his arms out, "I'll carry it for you this time."

"Oh, thanks, Ven." Xion handed him the Wii and he picked it up in his arms before they walked up to her room. Turning into it, he posed, "Do you want me to put it here?" Ventus stood by the table.

"Yeah, that's fine." He placed it down and then looked at the fish tank on top of the desk. "Oh, I didn't know you had a pet."

"Yeah, I got fish because I thought they'd be easy to take care of, but…as you can see…" Xion inconsolably motioned a hand towards the floating golden loach and frowned. "Why do they keep dying?" she groaned looking away from the tank like it hurt too much to see the continuous outcome.

Ventus tapped the glass, "Do you feed them?"

"Uh-huh. Fish flakes, just like you're suppose to, right?"

"Yeah..." Ventus rested his palms on his knees as he bent over to peer into the tank. "What about change their water so they're not always swimming in their own waste?"

Xion made a disgusted face before she answered, "I never need to. By the time I put a new fish in the bowl they just shake around really fast and…die."

"Well…do you place the bag you buy them in inside the fish bowl first, so the temperature of the water adjusts to that of the tanks?"

Xion looked at him, dumbfounded as she blinked. "Um…no… I never knew you had to."

Ventus gave her a sympathetic smile. "Well I think that's what happened to all your fish. I know it doesn't seem like it, but there is a lot of stuff you have to consider with fish, Xion. Like filters, heaters, sand, gravel, water conditioners, types of food, temperatures, cleaning, acidity of the water and even softness or hardness of water believe it or not."

Xion placed her hands on her hips and looked thoughtfully at the tank. "Wow… That's way more than I bargained for. How do you know all this?" She turned back to the blonde boy.

"My first job was at a pet store."

"You should work there again," she grinned earnestly and Ventus chuckled.

"Maybe, if I don't get this job at the coffee shop."

"You applied at a coffee shop? Is it the one down the street?" Xion pointed a finger as if that helped and Ventus nodded. "I hope you do get the job," she continued, "They need more guys working up there."

"Uh, thanks, I guess," he smiled. "I hope I get the job too." Ven reflected for a moment before questioning, "Where do you work at, Xion?"

"Oh, just a clothing store," she shrugged a bit. "How'd you know I worked? Or did you just assume?" She blinked.

"Vanitas told me. …Where does he work anyways?"

"Vanitas? At a bar. He works the nightshift though, surprise surprise," Xion joked sarcastically. "Speaking of my mean 'ol brother, why does he have your number but you don't have his?"

Ventus looked at her puzzlingly for a second. He didn't even notice he hadn't gotten the dark haired teen's number as well. It actually never dawned on him _to_ get it. "Uh, I…" He scratched the back of his head.

"Aww, is it one-sided?" Xion frowned worryingly.

"What?" Ventus appeared confused just before they heard Vanitas call,

"Xion, get your laundry out of the dryer, so I can put mine in!"

The girl made an annoyed face before she leaned her head out the doorway, calling back, "Can't you do it?"

"Do you want me to go through your underwear?"

"Ew, no!" Xion scampered out of her room to the washing machine. Vanitas shook his head as his sister passed him down the hallway and he walked forward about to go to his own room. "Having fun?" He stopped and looked at Ventus who looked back at him for a moment before he shrugged audibly. Not because he was unsure whether he was enjoying her company or not, but because the less words him and Vanitas exchanged, the better. _Why is he even asking? _Ventus frowned, pretty sure Vanitas meant that in a mocking manner.

"I think I have too many clothes!" Xion attempted to shove the large basket of clothing down the hall. Beginning to kick it with her foot, she groaned, "This is what I get for working at a clothing store."

Vanitas looked towards her. "I told you to sell some of that mess."

"Do you need any help?" Ventus inquired considerately.

"Yes, please!" She dropped her leg from the hamper. Vanitas watched as Ventus moved pass him to help his sister out while an odd emotion crept inside the raven, something familiar to why he shot the clerk at the coffee shop a glare. Ventus carried one end of the basket while Xion held up the other. "Thanks a lot, Ven. You're really helpful."

"No problem. Just glad I could help," he smiled back.

Vanitas moved to the side when the two came forward to enter her room. "Would you mind helping me put them away?" Xion asked, slowly placing the basket onto the carpet. "I mean, you don't have to, but-"

"Nah, I don't mind," Ventus placed his end on the floor as well. In a matter of minutes, he found himself folding girl's clothes and hanging up garments in her closet while they made light conversation. …Since when was Ventus Xion's servant too? Vanitas scowled, leaving to return to his own room.

Not noticing her brother's departure, Xion asked, "Hey, after this, do you want to go get some ice cream?" She hung another jacket up in the closet before placing a hand on her stomach. "I'm kind of in the mood for some sea-salt."

"Sea-salt? I love that flavor!" Ventus grinned widely. "Well, I don't think I'm addicted to it as much as Roxas is, but it is really good."

Xion laughed. "It's thanks to Axel that he even knows about it. And we can even take your advice and walk. You know, stop and smell the roses as they say, right?"

Ventus laughed at his previous words that were now beginning to sound really clichéd. "Yeah."

* * *

_Talk about a lose-lose situation_

* * *

Before he knew it, it was gearing towards the end of the day. The bright orangey sun was setting behind the clouds and Ventus sat with Xion on the living room couch watching TV. And to think he told Roxas he wasn't going anywhere. So much for that. He stared at the screen before his eyes widened slightly. "That's right! I need to send him a text." Ventus took his phone out from his back pocket.

"Send who a text?" Xion averted her eyes from the television at the sudden outburst. "Vanitas?"

"Huh? No." Ventus moved his thumbs, pressing letters as he spoke, "Roxas. I said I'd text 'em if I left. I nearly forgot." He clicked send after he created the message verifying where he was.

"Oh, that's nice. My bro never texts me to say where he's at," Xion murmured crossly. "Hey, is it okay if I get your number while you already have your phone out?"

"Yeah, sure." Ventus told her his digits before she told him her own to save to his phone.

He was about to slide his cell back into his pocket when Xion asked him, "So you have my number now, but you don't have Vanitas's do you?"

"Huh?" Ventus looked at her. Why so many questions on Vanitas? "I don't- No, why would I?"

"Well, I saw he had your number in his contacts, but you seemed to not recognize his number when I called. I thought that was kind of strange."

"Oh." Ven hadn't even thought about that. "He asked for my number. I guess I didn't even think about getting his."

"He asked for your _number_?" Xion leaned forward excitedly. The raven actually more of told him to, but that wasn't going to stop Xion's Cheshire Cat grin. "I knew what you said about being friends was a lie! A real friend would've already _had _your number."

Ventus's eyes widened. "Wait, that's, uh, 'cause-"

"Now I guess the next question is why would Vanitas want your number…?" Xion glanced up at the ceiling in thought.

Ah, crap! Vanitas wasn't kidding about her piecing the puzzle together herself. But if she found out… She couldn't find out! "I don't know," Ventus answered with a shrug. "Maybe he just needs some help in school or something."

"Don't lie to me, Ventus Strife." Xion averted her eyes from the ceiling, so their blue orbs met. "It's evident that you're hiding something. You know, I wasn't too sure at first. With Vanitas coming home with your umbrella, you coming over, cleaning his room, Vanitas taking the phone away from me to talk to you, you not wanting Roxas to know, even being late for class to cook for him. It all makes sense now." She smiled deviously. "I figured out why you keep doing things for Vanitas. Even if you're as nice as you are, Ven, no one _just _does favors for my brother."

Ventus could only stare at her blankly. He hadn't even realized there were so much more evidence pointing to his secret and probably even more. Gawd! It was time to face the facts. SHE KNEW! "W-Wait, let me explain-"

"No, no." She waved her hands from side to side dismissfully. "That's okay. No explanations necessary. I think it's so cute!"

Blonde eyebrows rose. _Cute…?_ "…Are you serious?" Ventus questioned softly, the odd expression still visible on his face.

"Yeah! I mean there are plenty of people like you nowadays."

…Was she kidding? There were plenty of people in his shoes right now? Ventus glanced down at the sofa. He had no idea blackmailing someone into the life of servitude was so popular. "…I guess…that makes me feel a _tiny_ bit better?" He looked back up at her uncertainly.

"Aw, you should feel great! Be proud of it!" Xion shook his shoulders and Ventus gawked at her in surprise. Be proud of it? How was that even possible?

He glanced away from her big, cobalt eyes shamefully, "There's not really much to be proud of when you're basically someone's bitch..."

"Yeah, I heard him call you his servant over the phone. He's so uncaring to other's feelings sometimes," her face saddened. "But that's not how you feel, is it? His bitch? Aw, Ven... You guys should talk about it."

"We already have," the blonde stated miserably. What was she talking about? It was pretty much a part of the deal.

"Well…you could always leave him," Xion suggested hesitantly, her face appearing like she didn't really want that to happen.

"Yeah, I'm trying to." Ventus thought about the job he was trying to get and how he wanted to pay Vanitas back for his freedom. The only reason he didn't walk away now was that he didn't want to be in a lawsuit.

"Is he forcing you?" She looked at him worryingly. "He's not abusive, is he?"

"Huh?" Ventus blinked. "No. He asked me and I agreed." Like there was much choice. Now that he thought about it, it was a lose-lose situation for him either way. Do whatever Vanitas said or get sued and lose his house. The options were less than in the blonde's favor.

The raven haired girl stared at him, "Oh, well, that's good. I saw him putting more bandages on his arm when he came home yesterday. Did you guys get in a fight?"

"What? No," Ventus laughed softly. Roxas had thought they did too. He recalled their encounter with Seifer and how Vanitas basically threatened to break his arm at one point if he called the cops. "I doubt I'd be in perfect condition if we did."

Xion frowned, her eyes glistening as she looked at the blonde sincerely. "I'm sorry, Ven... Vanitas can't be an easy person to love, huh?"

Ventus stared at her for a couple of prolonged seconds while the question sank in. "…What?"

"Vanitas." Xion pointed up as to point to the teen's room upstairs. "You know, seeing as you guys are dating and all."

…Ventus could've sworn time stopped. It seemed like everything stopped. His thoughts, his heart beat, his ability to blink and clamp his gapping mouth shut.

"Ven?" Xion waved a hand in front of the wide cerulean eyes. "Hello?"

"You got us, Xion." An arm fell around the blonde's shoulder and Ventus quickly whipped his head to the side to see the dark haired teen standing leisurely behind the couch. "Now could you give us some privacy for a moment? I need to talk to Venny."

_VENNY? _He never even called him _Ven_!

Xion bursts out into a fit of giggles as she clamped her hands over her mouth. She nodded her head before throwing her arms excitedly into the air. "My brother has a boyfriend!" She jumped off the couch and zoomed up the steps, her giggles of joy still heard until her bedroom door shut.

Ventus stared in horror in the direction she pranced off to and as his mind shifted from shock and confusion to anger and embarrassment. He threw Vanitas's arm off him. "Why did you tell her that!" he demanded, scowling up at the teen. "And when did you get here!"

"Ya'll couldn't hear me walk down the steps?" Vanitas rested his arm on his side. "Damn, I'm cunning without even trying to be." Ventus continued to glower and Vanitas explained, "Look, you probably were too busy looking like you were in a horror film to notice."

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that you're an idiot and Xion's a major fangirl."

Ventus clenched a fist, "I didn't think that _that _was what she was talking about! Why did you have to go and tell her that, huh? Now she completely has the wrong idea!"

"Relax. You're the one who wanted me to say things to throw her off. So she doesn't figure it out, remember?" Vanitas said mockingly. "And then when I actually do, you have a problem with it. Make up your fucking mind."

"But we're _not_ dating!"

"Well, I know that and you know that. So what's the problem?"

"I don't want her to tell anybody false things!" Ventus groaned. She was probably texting Kairi right now '_u know Ventus? Roxas's twin? He's dating my brother! Omg!_' Ah, damn. Wonder if she texts Roxas? Ventus could bang his head against a wall right now. "Did you see how happily she ran off?" he gestured a hand widely, "That's _I'm-going-to-go-tell-everyone-I-know_ running!"

"Then tell her to keep her mouth shut if you're so worried she will." Vanitas narrowed his eyes, scratching his ear like Ventus was too damn loud.

"Why? So she can have something to blackmail me with too," he considered one of the worse case scenarios as he crossed his arms over his chest, "if she's anything like you."

"Trust me, Xion's a little bit nicer than I am." Vanitas assured him. "And from what I heard, you were having a bit of a close call there. You're lucky she didn't guess right and just came to the ridiculous assumption that we're dating."

"That doesn't really help." Ventus was slumped down in the cushion hopelessly before he stood to his feet. "Either way, this isn't what I wanted. I have to explain that it was a misunderstanding before she tells anyone."

"Wow, you really do care what people think." Vanitas stated nonchalantly, shaking his head back and forth like he was looking at some poor, pathetic creature and received a glare from Ventus. "Would you prefer she know the truth?" he continued, "Because if you say her conclusion is wrong, she'll only guess again until she gets it right. That's just how she is."

Ventus grimaced. He really liked Xion, but why did she have to be so persistent? This was getting to be a lot more complicated than he intended it to be. "The way I see it, you have two choices." Vanitas caught his attention as Ven looked at him curiously. "Which one is it, Ventus?" His arrogantly smooth voice was unusually serious and made the blonde's heart skip a beat as he stared back at golden orbs. "My bitch or my boyfriend?"

* * *

**Thank you to ****TheAnnoyingVoice****, ****zackslittlepuppy****, ****MeeSheeMuFFin****, ****shadowdolls****, ****harry****, ****Sgofyyah13****, KonataIzumi1 & ****Lionwings for your reviews! Love ya'll!**

_So, I got this from a friend's story. She was plagiarized & that makes me kinda mad. If you can't think of your own ideas, don't copy somebody else's like people aren't' going to notice =_= Or if you like the idea, just ask if you can use it first. It must feel horrible to work hard on something original & then someone takes it. __Anywho. This prayer was written by her in honor of the people of Japan. (March 11th, 2011)- __**Praying for Japan**__. Which was hit by a 8.9 recorded earthquake. The devastation is tremendous and a lot of people are scared, missing, and dead. I pray for them as they faced this tragedy. Mother nature is very cruel and unfair. To all of Japan, I pray. I pray for their safety and recovery from this historical event. I pray for the safety of the elderly, children and young adults who are facing this right now. I pray for them. Copy and Paste this on your profile if you have a heart. Send it around!_

**A/n: **_Did anyone else get the Twix part? LOL Have you ever seen the commercial when the girl ask the guy a question & it's like "Need A Moment?" then he bites into the Twix to have time to think of his excuse? xD Idk, maybe that's just me. And I admit I fangirl'd over my own story. Especially the last part...! =w= Ah... As always, thanks for reading & please leave a __**review!**_


	6. Day 17: What the Fuck?

**Disclaimer**_: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its original characters._

**Rating/Genre**_: T, but possibly M in the future. Romance/Drama/Humor. _**Warning**_: Mild sexual content._

**A/n**_: I would've posted this earlier but fanfiction was undergoing maintenance or something. Did anyone else notice that? Thanks to my beta ConverseG1rl (twin!) for well, beta-ing xD See, see, Con? :D I changed the lovey-dovey SoRoku moment to something more angsty =w= And thanks to MeeSheeMuhFFin cuz messaging her keeps me focused on Van/Ven xD haha_

* * *

_90 Days_

_Chapter 6:_

_What the fuck?_

* * *

The question was an outrage and a slap in the face to every bit of manhood Ventus possessed.

His _boyfriend_? What! The last time he checked they were both _guys_! They couldn't _date_! Sure, he'd admit he thought Vanitas was a physically attractive person, but it didn't take a homosexual to see that. Look at him! However, it did take one to date another male and as far as Ventus was aware, he was _not _gay. It wasn't like he himself had any prejudice towards gay people. No, not at all. It was just…he wasn't gay! His mom was straight, his dad is straight, his twin is straight, why would the cycle stop at him? Ventus could barely believe what he just heard as he stared at the unmoved raven, bug-eyed.

There was a delayed pause before the blonde opened his mouth to speak and a stammered, tongue-tied response spilled from his lips making Vanitas raise a brow. Ventus immediately clamped his mouth shut in embarrassment to his failure to answer clearly. What was he doing? It was just a stupid question probably aiming to get a rile out of him. Ventus exhaled heavily in frustration. He hated how Vanitas always seemed to have the upper hand on his emotions while the raven kept his calm and cool demeanor on the outside. It was ridiculous; Ventus shouldn't let anyone get the better of him. His bitch or his boyfriend? How about _neither_. The light haired teen couldn't help the scowl that set on his face. "Listen, my life isn't something you can just waltz into and ruin," he spoke through clenched teeth and gestured widely with his hands, "because that's pretty much all you've been doing since I met you."

"And whose fault is that?" Vanitas retaliated, pointing a finger towards him accusingly. "Maybe if you hadn't jumped out into the street, we never would_ have _met."

Cerulean orbs narrowed and the tension in the air could only be described as a glaring match between the two. Was it true? If Ventus hadn't saved that cat, would the two of them not be standing in the place they are now? Would the two of them never have _met_?

Ventus's thoughts became a whirlwind and he needed rationalization to think straight. Why was he even putting so much thought into his response? The question shouldn't be bothering him that much. For all he knew, despite what Vanitas's eyes read, he just meant it as a joke to relish in the blonde's reaction. And what a reaction Ventus was giving him, stuttering and contemplating and what not. If Vanitas wanted to joke about things like this then fine. That's how Ventus was going to accept it; as a joke. "You know what," Ven shrugged slightly, loosening his tense shoulders as his glare softened, "Xion already thinks I am, so…why not? I'll settle with boyfriend."

Vanitas's eyes widened slightly in revelation. It wasn't like it was actually _true_, but just a wall to keep Xion from finding out the truth on the other side. And if the teenage girl was to keep her mouth closed and not tell a single soul about this, she'd be the only one to think they were dating. Ventus could…live with that, he supposed. He glanced up hesitantly as Vanitas stared at him widely like the answer caught him off guard. Ventus glanced to the side uncomfortably for a second before he meekly asked, "What?"

"Nothing," Vanitas scowled. "I just…didn't expect you to say that."

Ventus kept his gaze to the side and prayed his face wasn't dusted a shade near pink. "It's not like it means anything. Besides, you weren't really…serious, were you…?" his voice grew small as he moved his eyes towards the raven.

Vanitas stared at him for a second before he scoffed, "Well, of course I wasn't serious. Did you really need to ask me that? Like I would honestly offer to date _you_," he gave a ridiculing snort.

Behind his glare Ventus couldn't help but think Vanitas had _looked_ serious when he asked the question, but maybe that was just him. There was no way it was legitimate. Duh. The black haired boy just liked to get under his skin for some reason and unfortunately, sometimes it worked.

Another prolonged silence set as Ventus and Vanitas stood in the living room, seeming unsure of what to say next since the blonde didn't reply with a witty comeback. It was odd, Ventus wanted rationalization to think clearly, but only after he answered did he_ now_ start to think clearly. Did he really just agree to be Vanitas's boyfriend?

A loud, musical ring tore through the stillness and Ventus glimpsed up at Vanitas who tilted his head towards the direction of the blonde's pocket. Shifting his blue orbs, he looked down at the blinking light in his back pocket and took his phone out, mumbling, "…Hello?"

"Hey, Ventus!"

"…Oh!" His eyes enlarged slightly and he coughed, making his tone more cheerful, "Hey!" Ven recognized the voice of the clerk from the coffee shop.

She giggled. "Glad you recognize me. Well, I'm just calling to tell you…you got the job!"

He blinked for a second before a smile stretched over his face. Really? "A-Awesome! Great, thank you."

"No problem! Can you start tomorrow at noon? I know you wrote down you're in college on the application."

"Yeah, noon is fine."

"Alright, we will see you tomorrow then, Ven!"

"Right. Thanks again!" The call ended and Ventus closed his phone. His smile widened. He got the job before he could even put in any other applications! This meant he could not only help Roxas now, but… He looked back at Vanitas who looked partially confused as to why there was a sudden grin across his face. Ventus was one step closer to getting out of this blackmail. One step closer to no longer being bond to _this asshole. _It might not take the shortest amount of time to earn five thousand dollars, but between work and school, he would be kept busy and away from Vanitas, at least for a little bit. Except…Vanitas was in his economics class now…but oh well! Ventus had more classes that he wasn't in. Nothing could dim his moment of shine right now. Ventus would relish in his own victory for a change because the way he saw it, Vanitas couldn't do much about it if he ever wanted to get paid back. It was almost too good to be true.

"What?" Vanitas narrowed his golden eyes seeing Ven's smile wasn't falling anytime soon.

"I got the job," the blonde smirked, a gesture odd to his character. The phone call couldn't have been at a more perfect time. It only reminded Ventus that there was a way out of this and now that he got the job it would only take a matter of pay checks to get there. Smiling softly, he looked up and saw the dark haired teen's facial expression wasn't as pleased as he looked back at Ventus a tad miffed. "…What?" Ventus questioned uncertainly.

Vanitas averted his leering eyes. "Nothing."

The blonde blinked confusingly and noticed there was another discomfited silence that they were growing unusually accustomed to. Ven fidgeted with his phone when he realized it was getting late once he glanced down at the time. "…I should be getting home now," he spoke aloud to himself. He glanced up at Vanitas. "Say bye to Xion for me."

"I don't take the orders, _you do_. Why don't you tell her yourself?" The raven jerked his head towards the staircase, "You know where her room is."

Ventus frowned. Why did Vanitas always have to be so difficult? The blonde turned on his foot and went up the stairs. Turning the corner, he knocked on the girl's bedroom door. "Hey? Xion-"

The door soon cracked opened and a grinning girl met Ventus. Xion leaned her head partially pass the door frame as she placed her dainty hands against it. "Hey, Ven," she beamed, "What's up?"

"Uh…I just wanted to tell you bye before I went home," he smiled back at her. "I had a great time hanging out with you today."

"Me too," her smile widened and then it fell slightly, "But do you have to leave already?" She dropped her hands from the frame and opened the door fully. "I'd love to have you over more often and I'm sure Vanitas would too," a sly, suggestive grin returned to her face.

Ventus scratched the back of his head agitatedly, "Yeah, it's getting late… Um, Xion, speaking of Vanitas…could you not tell anyone about…us?"

"Oh, so it is a seeeecret?" Xion couldn't help the short giggle that escaped her lips.

"Yeah…" Ven squirmed. "So you can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Don't worry." Ventus glanced down as the teenage girl held up her pinky finger, "My lips are sealed. I promise." She even pinched her index finger and thumb together and glided them across her pursed lips, imitating a zipper with her other hand.

The blonde linked pinkies with her, "Thanks."

She nodded her head and Ventus waved a hand goodbye, about to shut the door when Xion grabbed the handle. "Hey, I'll walk you to the door if Vanitas doesn't mind." Ventus stepped to the side as Xion already began skipping out her room.

"I'm…sure he won't." The blonde made a face before they walked down the steps. Xion grinned once she saw her brother and the raven returned her happy gesture with a roll of his eyes. Ventus said nothing to him while he placed his hand on the knob, "See ya later," he said, particularly to Xion.

The front door opened and Ventus took a step outside the house when Xion spoke, "Wait!" She said it as if it was the strangest thing ever, "You're not even going to give your boyfriend a kiss goodbye?"

Ventus and Vanitas exchanged glances, not sure who she was talking to. _A kiss?_ Ventus thought, _Is she crazy?_ _Heck no!_

"You're right," Vanitas said to Ven's surprise and his eyes widened when the dark haired teen walked over to him. His breath hitched in his throat as Vanitas raised his arm towards his face, but simply placed his hand on the doorknob behind him. "But that might take longer than Venny has time for. Right?" He looked down at him, the proximity of their faces making Ventus rather uncomfortable.

The twin nodded softly, refusing to look Vanitas in the eyes, "Um…right."

"Excuses," Xion pouted, placing her hands on her hips. "You could at least give him a peck. What kind of boyfriend are you?" She scolded her brother like she was suddenly an expert on dating. She gave Ventus two thumbs up when he looked at her, apparently not understanding his desperate _you're-not-helping-me_ expression. Ventus had the right mind to duck under the raven's arm and shout '_okay, bye!_' And that's just what the nervous blonde did before the door clicked shut behind him.

* * *

_What the fuck?_

* * *

Ventus trudged inside the apartment after his couple mile walk, a dull expression on his face as he opened the front door. Glancing up, he was surprised to see Sora in their house, sharing a couch with Roxas, no less. There seemed to be a bit of awkwardness between the two every time Ven mentioned Sora to his brother, but there the brunette was in their house like everything was normal. On the other hand… Ventus observed, noticing different body languages that told him things _weren't_ normal. Roxas was leaning closely on the arm of the sofa, turned away from his friend. One arm hung lazily by his side with the TV remote in hand while his head rested on his other, an uninterested expression across his features with only an irritable blush coloring his pale face. Sora sat on the other end of the couch, a noticeable gap between the two. He looked more discomfited than his friend, but his expression wasn't as short-tempered. He also leaned on his palm awkwardly like there had been a lingering silence before Ventus entered the space.

The blonde glimpsed back and forth, growing a tad uncomfortable himself by the atmosphere before he gave a small smile. "Sorry I lost track of time, Roxas. I know it's late."

The four minute older brother glanced up at him like he was noticing Ventus for the first time before he looked back down, muffling into his hand, "You don't have to apologize. You texted me, so I wasn't_ too _worried." He averted his eyes from the floor and managed to give his twin a slight smile.

Ventus laughed softly, a grin upon his face. "So, uh, what've you guys been up to?"

Ven began to regret asking the question as another silence befell on the teens. Roxas twiddled with the TV remote in his hands as whatever was on TV suddenly became very interesting. Sora flicked his eyes towards his friend to answer, but it seemed he wasn't going to. The brunette rubbed his eyes like he had an eyelash in it so he could hide the light blush that he felt heating his face. "Uh, just chilling really..." He smiled clumsily.

Ventus raised a brow before his head nodded slowly. Roxas quickly led the subject astray while he kept his tone composed, "So how was Xion's?"

"O-Oh…" Ven glanced down. "It was…fun…" his words drifted off and he cleared his throat after receiving a skeptical look from Roxas. "We just played on her Wii and I helped her put away some of her laundry at her place. Then we went out to get some ice cream and went to a couple shops and stuff like that."

"Almost sounds like a date," a slow grin spread over Sora's face, glancing up at Ven.

"It wasn't a date," Ventus frowned at him defensively.

"And you told me you didn't like her like that," Roxas stated and Ventus turned towards him.

"I don't. We were just hanging out."

"Awww, Ventus has a secret girlfriend," Sora sang teasingly, hopping up from the couch to nudge Ven's shoulder. "But it doesn't seem like it's a secret anymore. You're treating my little cousin well, aren't you?"

"What? Of course I am, but… W-Wait, she's not my girlfriend!" Ventus frowned, balling his fists by his sides embarrassingly.

Sora laughed as he fell back onto the couch next to the boy's brother. He scooted over once he realized he sat down too close. "Hey, I'm just joking with you, Ven," he looked at him. "I would've text you to say hi to her and Vanitas for me if _Roxas_ had told me you were there."

Roxas seemed to ignore the complaint as something dawned on him, "…I almost forgot Vanitas was her brother…"

Ventus averted his eyes towards the floor when Roxas looked up at him. "He is?" Ventus asked, sounding like this was news to him. "I didn't see him."

"He wasn't there?"

"No." Ven shook his head and Sora stared at him, unconvinced. He remembered when Ventus asked him where Vanitas lived and he lived with Xion. If he went over to their house, he_ had _to know they were related. And he seemed pretty keen on Sora not telling Roxas that he even asked where Vanitas resided in the first place.

Ventus caught the brunette's scrutinizing look for a quick second and then looked back at Roxas, "But, uh, while we were out I did get a job at the coffee shop down the street from Twilight University." He gave a grin.

Roxas's orbs widened a tad, the statement successfully distracting him from their previous topic. "You did? What about your plan? You know, finish school first and all that."

"Eh…" Ventus waved a hand dismissively. "I decided I miss working."

Roxas eyed him doubtingly. "…You know, if you feel like I can't support us by myself, you don't have to worry about that, Ven. It's fine, I-"

"No, Roxas," the younger twin interrupted with a sigh, shaking his head from side to side. "Trust me, I want to. It was dumb and selfish of me to let you pay for everything by yourself. If anything, you should've been mad at me the day we moved out together and I came up with that stupid idea."

"Is that why you went out and got a job?" Roxas blinked. "Ventus, I told you it was fine the day we moved out. If it bothered me, I would've told you."

"But I can tell it does!" Ven griped, his eyes even frowning while he received surprised looks from both Roxas and Sora. "I see you when you're at the dining table with a hand through your hair and scowl on your face paying bills."

"…Well…who smiles while paying bills?" Roxas replied weakly.

Ventus exhaled. "It's okay to tell me I was wrong to even _think_ my idea was going to work. I'm just…sorry…"

Roxas stood up from the couch and Ventus's eyes widened when he embraced him in a brotherly hug. "Stop apologizing to me when you didn't do anything wrong," he said comfortingly as he leaned his head against the younger blonde's shoulder.

Ventus looked to the side at the back of his brother's head, his soft blonde spikes tickling his face lightly. "Roxas…"

Sora coughed, reminding the twins he was still in the room. Roxas dropped his arms from Ventus's back before Ven suggested, "Group hug?"

A grin broadened on the brunette's face. "You shouldn't have said that." He leaped off the sofa, tackling both the blondes to the floor.

Effortlessly wriggling out of the clump with a chuckle, Ventus stood to his feet as Roxas shouted, "Sora!" the blonde coughed after his back hit the floor with a _thump _and he tried to regain the wind that was momentarily knocked out of him. "He said a hug," he coughed again, "not break our backs!"

"I'm fine," Ventus laughed, straightening his T-shirt. He missed the fun little things the three of them use to do like that. His chuckle died off his lips once he noticed Sora landed suggestively between the blonde's legs. Seeming to notice this too, the two teens' faces colored a shade of red as they gawked at each other. Ven stood there for a second, almost feeling like he was intruding on something private. Why? He knew it wasn't as perverted as it looked, right? Sora just fell. "Well…I'm about to go to bed," Ventus said meekly. "I'll be upstairs if you guys need me or something." He excused himself from their living room and started walking up the steps to his own domain.

Sora looked from where Ventus exited, down to the teen under him when Roxas used his right arm to prop himself up. He limply pushed against the brunette's shoulder with a weak and docile force. "Get off me, Sora," he said, but his submissive body language told differently, making Sora hesitant to move.

"Why? We're already in the perfect position," Sora said, meaning to imply Roxas was forced to have his full attention now, but he still received a deepening blush from the blonde. "I'm guessing you didn't tell Ventus about what happened at the mall?" Sora asked and Roxas's lack of response made him assume that was a '_no_.' "Are you going to tell him about…what's going on with us?" It was Sora's turn to blush.

Roxas turned his head to the side. "There's nothing going on."

"Roxas, why do you think I came here to talk to you today? You weren't answering any of my calls or responding to any of my texts. You didn't even want to open the door for me when I rang the doorbell. I had to basically invite myself in," Sora tilted his head towards the front of the house before examining his friend's still troubled expression, a frown on his face as Roxas laid silent. "I just want you to talk to me. About-"

"Just forget about it, okay?" Roxas spoke, avoiding the brunette's stare.

Sora looked slightly taken aback. "Forget about it? How can you tell me to forget about it? You…_kissed_ me, Roxas."

Roxas felt a clump rise in his throat and he had trouble putting together his next sentence. "I-I didn't know what I was doing back there. It won't happen again, s-so just forget about it."

"So whadda you want me to do now? Pretend everything is normal between us?" he said, insinuating to Roxas like everything was _not_ normal. This was just what the blonde feared. He didn't want their relationship to be in shambles because he couldn't keep his…unnatural feelings to himself. "If it makes you feel any better," Sora continued, "it isn't any easier for me. Riku's gonna flip over this! And Kairi…oh boy." He glanced up at the ceiling for a second as if the heavens could save him from the wrath of his ex-girlfriend.

"You're going to tell them?" Roxas snapped, "What kind of friend are you?"

"What kind of friend kisses their best friend?" Sora retaliated and Roxas's glare intensified.

"Whatever, Sora." The blonde managed to shove the brunette off him and stood to his feet.

"We're not even going to fix this?" Sora looked up at him from the carpet, eyes following Roxas over to the door.

How? How could they possibly fix this? The only way Roxas could explain his actions was because he loved Sora ever since they were young, but that wouldn't _fix_ anything. He was positive that would only shatter their friendship with a sledge hammer. "Just…forget about it," Roxas repeated, at a loss for what else to say.

"I don't…think I can…" Sora breathed and the melancholy tone in his voice made Roxas bite his bottom lip in efforts to fight the unmanly tears that were threatening to roll down his cheeks._Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"Listen, I'm sorry…" the blonde said.

"That makes me think you regret it."

"Well, what else do you fucking want me to say, Sora!" Roxas's voice rose in frustration.

"I want you to tell me _why_!" the brunette jumped to his feet, his fists shaking as they clenched by his sides. "Did you…do it on purpose…or…was it an accident…or what…?"

"It was an accident." Roxas said firmly. "A mistake, okay?"

Sora looked hurt and Roxas couldn't imagine why. He wasn't the one that kicked off this whole situation. "Okay…" Sora spoke dully. "Well…since it was a mistake…I guess we can go back to the way things were."

"…As best friends?" Roxas knew his voice should sound happy that their relationship could still be rescued, but it didn't. For some reason, it sounded almost heartrending.

"Yeah…" Sora nodded his head before he stood up. "I'll…see you later, Roxas."

He watched as his friend walked passed him towards the front door. "…Later," he tried to force some life into his words, but they ended up coming out as insensible and dead as he felt. Sora gave him a small smile before he opened the door and soon shut it behind him. Funny. What was claimed to be "fixed" now felt like it broke even further. Roxas rested his back against the wall beside the door frame, tilting his head up towards the ceiling slightly while he allowed the few tears to roll down his cheeks. _Idiot…_

* * *

_What the fuck?_

* * *

Weeks later…

Ventus's days consisted of attending class, going to work and doing the usual of whatever Vanitas told him to do. He found out during his days with the dark haired teen that when he was in a fairly good mood, Ven had to do more normal things like cook, clean and do laundry, but when Vanitas was in a bad mood the orders became more ridiculous like tying his shoes or passing him the remote that would be right by him. While Ventus followed all these instructions, he spent a great amount of his time at the Valentine apartment instead of at his own house. He thought that once he added work to his school schedule, he wouldn't have time to be a servant, but it seems what the blonde thought was his victory was only a brief one before things worked in Vanitas's favor yet again. It was getting increasingly harder to hide his secret from his twin brother who grew more suspicious as days passed and Xion only had a huge grin every time she saw Ventus now, especially with Vanitas. He never expected his life to become so complicated and to be so full of lies to cover up more lies to cover up_ those_ lies. And he only had one person to blame for this.

Himself.

It'd be easier to blame Vanitas for his misfortune, but who was Ventus kidding? It was his own self-righteousness that got him into this situation. And besides, he could always get sued and lose his house along with his brother's trust if being a servant bothered him that much or according to Xion, a boyfriend.

Ven sighed heavily as he tapped his fingers on the store countertop. His head was hung down when he heard knocking against the glass door to his left. He mumbled, resting on his palm, "Store's closed." He lifted his head up to see who it was before his eyes widened in surprise. The older girl waved a hand at him happily. "AQUA!" Ventus leaned off the counter and abandoned the register to go unlock the door.

"Hey, Ven!" she greeted as the glass door swung open and he hugged her around the waist.

"I've missed you!" Ventus confessed excitedly. "What are you doing here?" He pulled back and smiled up at her, eyes wide.

Aqua laughed, "I've missed you too. I was actually just taking a walk down the street after the plane landed and I dropped my stuff off at the house I have over here. It was nice to come home to it and you too, Ven!" She smiled sincerely, bending her knees slightly to be at his eye level, "I didn't expect to see you through the shop window." Her smile fell a tad, "Are you okay? You looked kind of out of it before you noticed me."

Ventus shook his head. "I'm fine, Aqua. I…uh, just think all the coffee beans are getting to me." He waved a hand in front of his nose as to fan away the strong smell. "How come you didn't call me or anything when you landed? I would've tried to get out of work early to meet you at the airport."

A crafty smile appeared on her face. "We wanted it to be a surprise."

"We?" Ventus leaned his head to the side and saw the older man come out from behind the corner of the building.

"Hey, Ven."

"Terra!" He ran up and hugged his brown haired friend as well. "You guys are both back! This is great!" Terra chuckled as he returned Ventus's embrace.

"So this is where you work, Ven?" Aqua pointed a finger towards the shop.

"Uh-huh." He pulled back from Terra. "I've been working there for a couple weeks now. I probably smell like cappuccinos, don't I?" he gave a toothy grin.

Terra chuckled, nodding his head. "Now that you mention it, you sure do. But aside from gaining a coffee scent, how is it?"

"It's okay." Ventus shrugged. "It gets the bills paid."

"Well, that's good," Aqua ruffled the blonde spikes.

Ven grinned. "So did you guys get off on the same plane?"

"Yeah, we were both done with what we needed to do out of state, so why not come home at the same time?"

"That's perfect!" Ventus beamed. It was always fun hanging out with Roxas the few chances he could and making new friends like Xion to spend time with, but nothing could compare to the time he spent with his_ best_ friends. "So I'm off work now! We should all hang out again! Even grab some sea-salt ice cream, my treat!"

Terra and Aqua exchanged troubled glances. "…We'd love to, Ven, but…" Aqua commenced as Ventus's smile began to fall.

"But what?"

"We actually made reservations to the Unversed Bar tonight and…"

"It's twenty-one and older, right," Ventus said flatly, more in a well-known statement than a question.

"Yeah…" He frowned. He had been _waiting_ to be with Terra and Aqua again, but now they were more interested in going to a bar? Their age difference always seemed to be an obstacle to the trio. Or else, that's how Ventus saw it. Moments like these, he couldn't tell if it was really because of age or if his two friends couldn't care less or not. "We'll hang out some other time, Ven. We're back home, there'll be another chance," Terra added.

"Yeah, I just thought that maybe-" Ventus paused before shaking his head lightly. "Never mind."

"Don't be sad," Aqua patted his head. "Hey, I'll call you when we have time to hang out. Don't worry."

_We?_ Why did it always have to be_ we_ or _them_? What about Ven? "Right."

He watched as his friends waved a hand goodbye and started to disappear in the night sky. Ventus gazed after them before he glanced down. That did not go like he planned. He thought when his best friends came back home, they'd be more eager to be together with him, but he guessed that was just his wishful thinking. He bet if Sora just came back from somewhere far away he'd jump at the chance to hang out with Roxas again.

Ventus had to admit, he was disappointed. The blonde wished he didn't have such high hopes because then standing alone on an empty sidewalk wouldn't hurt as much. "…Well…I'm sure somebody else wants to do something." He took out his cellphone hopefully and called Xion.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Xion." He heard feminine laughing in the background. "Uh, are you doing something right now?"

"Oh, I'm just over at Kairi's with Nami- My gosh!" Her words were interrupted by a random fit of laughter. "Sorry, but this movie is hilarious!" She asked once her giggles died down, "Why do you ask?"

"Um, I was just gonna ask if you wanted to hang out or something, but if you're watching a movie…"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ven. Some other time?"

"Yeah, some other time."

"M'kay, bye bye!"

"Bye." He decided to call Roxas after Xion ended the call. He was pretty sure his brother didn't have work or class today, which was very rare. "Hey, Roxas," Ventus said once his twin answered the phone, "You wanna go do something? …Oh, you're out with Axel? …Okay… No, it's alright... Yeah, I'm sure. …M'kay, bye." Ven sighed, but the mention of the red-head made him remember his younger brother.

Ventus went to 'Lea' in his contacts and called his number next. He listened to the phone ring several times before it went to voice mail. _"Hey! Sorry, I can't come to the phone right now obviously, but if you're lucky I might call ya back, got it memo-?" _Ventus ended the message, quite familiar with the catchphrase. "Busy." He found himself scrolling through his list of contacts only to soon find out everybody was doing_ something_. "Since when does everyone I know have such busy lives?" Ventus shut his phone hopelessly with a _clack_ after his last call with Tidus ended and he dropped it into his pocket. "…I didn't even close the store," Ventus noticed the open door and walked over to it, locking it before he shut it behind him.

He sat on the curb of the street, the night air gently blowing his golden hair every few seconds. He didn't know why he got a job so far from his house. It was always a breather to walk from it to his apartment. Now he was working the night shift and while the walk was long, on top of that he could hardly see. What if some creeper just jumped out and kidnapped him? Ventus could hold his own in a fight if he had to, but that depended on who he was up against. If the man was huge and overwhelming then his friends and family might not ever see him again. The blonde's imagination began to run wild and he leaned his head on the palm of his hand. "If that were to happen right now it's not like anyone would notice." His tear ducts stung. He closed his eyes, trying to hold the unwelcome tears back. His unusually negative thoughts were not helping the lonely feeling in the pit of his stomach. He brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face against them.

"Do you always sit here after work?"

Ventus lifted his head at the increasingly recognizably smooth voice. "Vanitas?"

The raven walked forward and took a seat beside him on the cement. "…Why do you look like you're about to cry?" he noticed, looking at the teen.

Ventus's eyes widened and he immediately brought his hands up to wipe his face. "I-I'm not! I-It's just an eyelash irritating my eyes." He rubbed one eye while his other peered at Vanitas from underneath long lashes. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on my way to work," Vanitas answered nonchalantly, looking over his shoulder at the closed coffee shop. "I actually stopped by to get a black coffee so I don't fall asleep on the job, but looks like I'm a little too late." He turned back around, "Then I saw you sitting here."

"…And you actually came over to see if I was okay?" Ventus looked at him.

"I came over to ask why the hell you're sitting on the curb like a homeless person."

Ven scowled. Of course Vanitas didn't really care whether he was alright or not. Duh. "No reason," the teen mumbled. "I'm just thinking."

"About?"

"Nothing…"

"You were thinking about nothing? I knew you were empty-headed and all, but damn."

Ventus further glowered. "No! I mean… Why are you even asking me? It's not like you care." He folded his arms over his legs irritably.

"You don't know that."

"I'm pretty sure I do," he grumbled into his crossed arms.

"Whatever." Vanitas stood to his feet to return to his motorcycle.

Ventus quickly looked up as he watched the raven leaving. "Hey, wait!" he called. The guy wasn't the first person he'd choose, or even the second or maybe even the last, but he was_somebody_ and for some reason Ventus felt compelled to ask him, "Are you doing anything?"

"I just said I'm on my way to work," Vanitas stated insensitively.

"Oh, right. Sorry..."

The dark haired teen eyed him steadily. "…Why do you ask?"

"…No reason…"

Vanitas tossed him a look as if to ask _'are you stupid?_' He turned around and sat back down next to him on the sidewalk. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"No, I'm not. Stop calling me that," Ventus said desolately. The two sat in a prolonged silence for a moment, only the noise of the night breezes and a few passing cars breaching the stillness.

"So what's the real reason you're sitting here like a lonely puppy?" Vanitas asked indifferently.

Ventus looked at him and then towards no direction in particular. "I was just…looking forward to hanging out with some friends I haven't seen in awhile, that's all. But…they're busy like everyone else."

"How sad," Vanitas stated callously. "And by sad, I mean pitiful. You're seriously looking depressed because you can't hang out with some _friends_? Ah, grow up, Ventus."

The blonde shot him a glare. "If you're trying to make me feel better you're not really helping."

"Who said I'm trying to make you feel better? I'm giving you a reality check. Not everything is gonna turn out as picture perfect as you think it is, so you might as well get use to the real world." Ventus frowned crossly. Who said he thought things were going to be picture perfect? He wasn't in preschool, he already knew that! If he thought life was going to be perfect, he wouldn't have a dead mom or be in the situation he was in now. "…Did I make you cry?" Vanitas raised a brow once Ventus started rubbing his eyes.

"No, I actually have something in my eye this time. Not that I didn't the last time too, but- Ow!" he winced.

"Stop whining." Vanitas leaned forward. "Move your hand," he commanded and Ventus reluctantly dropped his arm from his irritated iris. "…It's not an eyelash," Vanitas said, softly brushing back a strand of hair from Ven's face, "A piece of your girlish hair was in the way."

"Oh." Ventus blinked his orbs, ignoring the insult as he rubbed his eye once more. "Thanks," he said while Vanitas stared at the fields of cerulean that seemed to radiate under the combined light of the moonlit sky and artificial street lights. "Uh…yeah?" Ventus lowered his hand from his face.

The blonde's breath caught in his throat when Vanitas leaned forward a dangerously close centimeter, sending Ventus into a full blown panic. His eyes weren't playing tricks on him, were they? The street lighting wasn't impairing his vision, right? The raven seemed to change his motive at the last minute when he stood up. "I gotta get to work. Bills don't pay themselves."

"R-Right," Ven murmured. Maybe his eyes _were_ deceiving him. Because there was no way. Vanitas couldn't have been about to…

The black haired teen walked pass to his bike. "…You need a ride?" He got on and gripped the handle bars.

"I-I thought you had to get to work…" Ventus blinked, turning to face him.

"Doesn't mean I have to be on time."

"Well…I don't wanna make you late." Ventus stood to his feet, "I can wal-"

"Get on, Ventus," Vanitas stated and the blonde looked up at him surprisingly. He glimpsed at the ground for a second before he self-consciously sauntered forward. "Here," Vanitas handed him a new helmet he had bought weeks ago once Ventus climbed on behind him.

"But that's yours," he glanced down at it. It looked just like the one he had before the accident when it cracked.

"Just take it," the raven ordered and Ventus reluctantly slid it over his head. It fit almost perfectly. Vanitas looked back at him. "Eh, too badass for you."

"You're the one who told me to put it on," Ventus scowled through the tinted lens and Vanitas chuckled before he revved up the engine and started speeding down the road. Ven told himself he would never ride on the back of his bike again. And there he was, T-shirt rippling through the air and heart threatening to rip from his chest. Why couldn't he make it shutup? It was just Vanitas. The asshole. The man he hated. Did his heart not remember that?

* * *

_What the fuck?_

* * *

Ventus was patting his pockets all around his pants after Vanitas dropped him off at his apartment. "What are you doing?" The raven looked at him funny from atop of his motorcycle.

"I can't find my key," Ventus continued to search. "I thought I brought it with me today, but…I must have left it inside." He murmured a quick profanity as he was beginning to realize he indeed left it in his house.

"Then just knock on the door," Vanitas emulated a knocking gesture, like it was obvious.

"It wouldn't do me any good. Roxas is at Axel's house."

"Then climb through your window," the raven tilted his head to the side. "Hell, that's what I'd do if I was dumb enough to lock myself out."

Ventus frowned. "The only windows that open are the ones upstairs..." He turned and walked around to the side of the building. Vanitas looked for a second and stepped off his bike to follow. Ventus looked up at his bedroom pane. "I can't reach that…" he murmured, biting his thumb nail. If there were any trees around, he could probably manage to climb it and reach the window from a protruding branch, but unfortunately there wasn't. "Could you help me up?" he asked after Vanitas came up behind him. "I could stand on top of your shoulders."

"You can't reach that?" Vanitas looked up. "I've broke in windows higher than this."

"That sounds like a crime," Ventus looked back at him.

"Something like that," Vanitas took a couple steps back to make room for his jump. Catching the ledge, he pulled himself up with a grunt. He used his left hand to shove the window upwards while his right hand supported himself, but he soon found out in failed efforts that it was locked. "What the hell," he groaned. "Your window is locked dammit."

"It is?" Ven frowned. Fuck. How was he going to get into his house now? He could always call Roxas and ask him to unlock the door, but he didn't want to bother him... But the only alternative was sleeping outside in the grass he stood on, but that didn't seem like such a pleasant idea either. Or he could always- His thoughts were interrupted by the piercing sound of glass breaking. "What the-" Ventus noticed the shards falling around him and he moved to the side before any hit him. Looking up, he saw Vanitas reach his bloody hand through the jagged hole and unlock the window.

"Got it." He winced slightly, pushing it open and then pulled himself inside the room.

"Are you insane! Did you just break the window?" Ventus shouted shockingly from below.

"Didn't you just hear me say I've broke in windows higher than this?" Vanitas extended his uninjured arm out. "Give me your hand."

Ventus exhaled heavily, giving himself some extra height as he stood on his tiptoes and successfully reached Vanitas's hand. After being pulled up into his room, Ventus murmured a thanks before looking at the teen's injury. "…Your arm is going to fall off," he frowned. "Didn't it just get finish healing from the bike accident?"

"Hey, let's not forget whose fault that was."

"That doesn't matter." Ventus rolled his eyes. "You're dripping blood all over the carpet," he pointed to the thick red droplets collecting on the floor. "How am I going to explain that to Roxas? And that shattered hole in our window?"

Vanitas gave a shrug. "That's not my problem. You wanted to get inside your house and now you're inside."

Ventus groaned. He looked out the broken window into the darkening sky. He guessed Roxas was sleeping over at Axel's house tonight or something since it was gearing pass midnight and he still wasn't back yet. "…I'll think it over after a goodnight's sleep." His eyes once again fell to Vanitas's bleeding hand as guilt rose in his chest. "There's a bathroom right across from here where you can wash that off."

Vanitas glanced down at it, "Skidding across the road on my arm after going fifty-five miles per hour felt worse than this. I'll take care of it when I get home."

He turned around to exit through the window when Ventus spoke, "Um, Vanitas…" The raven turned around questioningly and Ventus voiced the concern that's been, not so far, in the back of his mind. "Were you about to…kiss me back there?"

"…What makes you think that?" the teen asked nonchalantly.

Ventus was surprised he seemed to know exactly what he was referring to. "I'm just wondering because you were getting really close and-"

"Close?" Vanitas moved forward, inches away from the blonde's face.

"U-Um…" Ventus automatically leaned back a bit. "Y-Yeah, like that. I mean, 'cause-" Ven's words fell dull as Vanitas gazed into his eyes motionlessly for a moment.

"I told you, you were an idiot." He shoved the confused blonde against the bed. Falling back onto his mattress, Ventus's eyes fluttered open to their full extent as Vanitas placed his arms firmly on either side of him. "You agreed to be my boyfriend now, right? You play the role of my servant so well, I think it's only fitting you play this part just as good."

Ventus had no time to act in response before Vanitas forcefully pressed his lips against his. Ven's hands immediately moved in attempts to try and push the teen away, but Vanitas only pressed himself closer. Biting the supple bottom lip, Vanitas forced through the blonde's parted mouth and into the salivating cavern.

What in the world! Where did this come from? Ventus could feel his eyes beginning to roll to a close as he began losing the pleasurable battle for dominance inside his mouth. Thoughtlessly, he laced his fingers through spiked black hair to pull him down closer and he could feel Vanitas smirk against his lips. His brain cursed his body with every profanity in the book for acting positively towards this sudden attack. What was he doing! His mind yelled, but Ventus only tilted his head to the side as Vanitas's hands trailed down to his waist and Ventus let out a breathy moan. He wished he hadn't done that because the raven's kiss only deepened like he'd been deprived of the blonde for far too long. But how could that be? They _hated_ each other!

Ventus thought his brain was going to explode as he was utterly _speechless_ as to what was going on. But it wasn't like Vanitas was giving him any chance to talk, let alone _breathe_ as he relentlessly molested the blonde's face. The only action Ventus made closest to talking or breathing was the moans that escaped his lips the more skillfully and pleasantly Vanitas kissed him while the blonde's groin hardened pressing against the raven's own. Vanitas, pleased that he could draw such a reaction from him, parted Ven's legs open with his knee, making the blonde's face heat to dangerous levels. He beat against Vanitas's chest once more to get him off, but it was like every punch he landed was weak and submissive. He frustratingly melded back into the kiss, not knowing what to think of his actions. He wanted to scream, searching for the right words to describe this, but his brain could only clearly comment with three words; _what the fuck?_

* * *

Thank you to **TheAnnoyingVoice, GloomyPearl, Lionwings, MeeSheeMuhFFin, zackslittlepuppy, Linanae, SeraphicNightStar, Sgofyyah13, KonataIzumi1, myxs, shadowdolls, ****JuliaJellyfish, ****HeartlessRhapsody, ****Chocolollipop, ****VIII, ****youngwriter123 **and **TheBeginingsEnd.** Love you all! And the rest of you readers!

**A/n**: _That was the longest Comment Corner yet! 17 reviews on my last chapter! I love it! Thank you so much guys and I hope to hear from you alllll again, not just the ones I said that to, so don't feel left out. No one told me whether they liked the CC or not, so I might not do it next chappy just cuz it makes the chapter exxxtra long D; But if you're against that, just tell me or I'll never know. I hope you enjoyed Chapter 6! Await Chapter 7 and please, __**REVIEW**__!_

_EDIT: My computer needs virus protection (who knows when I'll get that) so I have no internet connection at home. Bare with me if Chapter 7 takes awhile._


	7. Day 18: Call it a Nightmare

**Disclaimer**_: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its original characters. _

**Rating/Genre**_: T, but possibly M in the future. Romance/Drama/Humor._ **Thanks To**_: ConverseG1rl (twin!) for beta-ing and MeeSheeMuhFFin (twin!) for reading over it! :D_

**A/n**_: So does nearly 2 months later count as updating soon? Lol But joking aside, I'm sorry for the long wait guys D: Though it wasn't as bad as some I've seen. (I know a girl who didn't update until 2 years later!) I intended to have this up sooner, but there were numerous bumps in the road =_= You would think the last 2 months of school we're not doing anything, but it's review, review, review, test, test, test, final, final, final galore! And then I'm currently on summer break and that's when job hunting starts! Had an interview today actually. Wish me luck! Oh, and this chapter was giving me hell, so I needed to walk away from it for a little while. Originally, I planned for something else in this, but it came out so forced I had to re-do it D: I refuse to let you guys read a crappy chapter! Hope you enjoy the result of when I'm NOT on writer's block :D And as always, please review! …haha I'm so evil…_

* * *

_90 Days_

_Chapter 7:_

_Call it a nightmare_

* * *

Falling out of his bed, tangled in a bundle of covers, Ventus blinked his eyes open once he hit the carpeted floor. The buzzing sound of the alarm clock still throbbed in his ears as it loudly vibrated on his bedside table and he stared up blankly at the popcorn ceiling.

_What…was…that…?_

He kicked his legs, parting from the sheets that clung to him in perspiration and reached an arm up to turn off the awakening sound that read 8:05. Ventus stood up slowly and gawked at the time. 8:05 _AM_? _But…how? _Ven stared forward before he shuttered slightly. It felt like it was winter in his room despite his beads of sweat. The blonde backed up, trying to recollect his thoughts. He took a seat on his mattress, yet quickly stood up once his fingers grazed something wet. His eyes were wide as he looked from the sticky residue on his fingertips to the blotch on the middle of his sheets. His orbs disbelievingly and with hesitation ventured down to his manhood and saw just what he feared, a slight erection through his pants. Flabbergasted, the teen stood frozen. "W-Wha…what?" Ventus questioned brokenly. The only thing that pierced his stunned state was the light footsteps he heard drawing near.

"Gah!" a yelp escaped from Ven's lips before he clamped a hand over his mouth and his heartbeat started to quicken as he began to panic. The teen jumped back into his bed, cringing at the touch of the mess, but he would have to deal with it for right now. Whipping the covers from off the floor, he tossed them over himself and turned his head on his pillow before shutting his eyes.

The door creaked open and the footsteps came into the darkened room. "…Hey, Ven…? You awake?" The light flicked on and Ventus recognized the sound of his brother's voice. Roxas, receiving no response, walked over and shook his twin's shoulder. "Ven?"

The younger blonde groaned, turning his head to the side like he had just woken up. "R-Roxas…?" he slurred, his cerulean orbs partially open. He shaded a hand over his face to block some of the light's rays. "Where've you been?" he asked sleepily, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible.

"I slept over at Axel's place last night. Sorry I didn't text you that," Roxas said before adding, "Lea said hey, by the way."

"…Last…night…?" Ventus uncertainly questioned, disregarding the last statement.

"Yeah…" Roxas nodded his head slowly, giving Ventus an odd expression once he noticed his twin's confused face. "Are you okay? You look sort of pale." He rested a hand on top of Ven's forehead as if he were checking for a fever.

"I'm fine," Ventus stated quietly.

"You sure?" Roxas drew his hand back, "Your face feel's pretty warm and…kind of sweaty," the older blonde wiped his hand across his black T-shirt, "Though that doesn't make much sense judging on how it's so cold in here." Roxas folded his arms closely over his chest. "Did you turn the AC up last night or something?"

"No," Ven claimed, shaking his head back and forth. He didn't know why it felt so chilly when he never touched the thermostat. The cold air was not helping his perspirated body from _getting_ sick though. _I just wanna know why-_ Ven's thoughts ceased as his wandering eyes stopped on the serrated hole in their window across from the bed.

"…What?" Roxas questioned at his twin's enlarged hues and was about to follow his gaze when Ventus grabbed his arm.

"Roxas, I think I actually might be sick." Ventus's voice sounded strained and he gave a heavy cough. "Could you…bring me some water from the kitchen?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure thing, Ven." Roxas turned towards the door to leave the room.

Ventus watched until the bedroom door closed behind him and then jumped out his bed, the wintry space immediately hitting his sweated body. "I really need to take a shower," Ventus groaned in disgust, but figured he had to deal with the most obvious problem first.

_So it wasn't just a dream?_ Ventus thought frantically, _What happened last night actually did happen? I think… _The blonde looked at the broken window, now knowing _that _much of yesterday was real. He stared nostalgically for a moment before he shook his head back and forth and urgently glanced around the room for something to cover the windowpane. _All I know is that I have to hide this before Roxas sees!_ _Tape, maybe? No… Roxas is going to notice a mass of tape. Uh…a shirt or something? Nah, that won't work… What if I move the dresser or bookshelf in front of it? No, that's too noticeable! He's gonna ask why that's there! Um…we don't have any blinds…dammit. Then what? _Ventus was desperately contemplating before he thought aloud, "Curtains!"

"What about curtains?" Ven closed his mouth shut once Roxas walked back into the room with a glass of water in his hand. "What are you doing up? If you're sick, get back in the bed."

"I-I am, but…I just got up to…get some medicine." Ventus stood strategically in front of the opening.

"Well, I'll get that for you, but you need to get back in bed." Roxas placed the glass on the nightstand with a _thud _before looking up at Ventus carefully. "…And no wonder you were all sweaty, Ven…" The younger twin could feel himself break out in a nervous sweat. Did he notice the bulge in his pants? Was it even still there? Ventus shifted uncomfortably, averting his eyes from his brother's attentive ones before Roxas gestured a hand towards his attire, "You slept in your daytime clothes. I'd imagine it'd get pretty hot in those pants, not to mention with your covers on top of that. And did you seriously sleep with your shoes on?"

Ventus glanced down. He _did_ sleep in his clothes last night. …Why?

"Y-Yeah… I guess I was so tired…I forgot to change out of them." Ventus gave a short shrug.

Roxas shook his head, giving the teen a sideways smile. "Be right back."

_Please don't_, Ventus thought before the door closed. He exhaled a big breath of air and stepped to the side, looking at the window. He decided the best thing would be to change the windowpane altogether, but in the short amount of time he had until Roxas came back upstairs, that idea didn't seem plausible. The blonde would just have to settle with some curtains.

Ventus moved over to the door and slowly cracked it open, peeking his head into the hallway. He could hear Roxas rummaging through the medicine cabinet downstairs and decided it was safe to proceed. He walked softly across the floor into the bathroom, some light from the early morning illuminating the room an eerie blue color off the reflection of the cerulean painted walls they had. It was just enough light for him to unhook the small curtains they had above the cabinet and over the window before he tiptoed back into the bedroom. Ventus closed their door behind him and went over to the damaged pane to start putting up the curtains, masking the broken glass when he heard footsteps returning. He hastily finished hooking on the last part and scurried back under his covers right before the door opened.

"Here, Ven." Roxas walked over with a bottle of cherry flavored medicine and a spoon in hand.

Ventus sat up slowly, taking the items. "Thanks… But…I think I'm going to take a shower first and change out of these clothes," he tugged at his shirt, "before I go back to bed. This medicine is probably going to make me sleepy."

"It shouldn't. Its daytime formula," Roxas looked down at it. "But that's a good idea. It might make you feel better." He moved to side, "I'll be downstairs if you need me for anything, 'kay?"

"M'kay. Thanks, Roxas."

Once the older blonde left again, Ventus briskly got out of bed as he could still feel the mess he made on his sheets. He shuttered before looking over at the newly placed curtains. "…He didn't notice," Ven mumbled to himself and prayed it'd stay that way. He stepped towards their closet and took out a shirt and some pants along with a pair of clean lime-green boxers. He took off his pair of Nike's before leaving the room and flicking on the light in the bathroom, closing the door with the heel of his foot. Ventus tossed his change of clothes on top of the cabinet and warm water came rushing out of the nozzle as he turned on the shower. Discarding his clothing onto the tiled floor, he stepped under the water and pulled back the shower curtain. Ventus looked up under the sprinkler, closing his eyelids while he let the droplets hit his face as he let out a light sigh. Was what happened last night a dream or not? He wished his memory wasn't so clouded and he really wished it was just a dream, but he wasn't too sure. The broken window was obviously real and he didn't recall that until he saw it with his own eyes. Even so, why would he have a dream about Vanitas? A wet dream, no less. Where he actually enjoyed the kisses and moans and biting and sucking and grunting and-

Ventus groaned in exasperation and began to wash himself with the bar of soap on the edge of the tub. Remembering the dream or nightmare, or whatever it was, _wasn't_ going to help him calm down. He just noticed his erection had gotten under control and the last thing he needed was for it to come back. "…I just need to forget about it," Ventus murmured softly. He swapped the bar of soap with a bottle of shampoo and began running it through his golden locks. "There's no point of stressing over it... And as long as I don't see…_him _I think I can manage that... Besides if I act too weird Roxas will worry or worse…find out…"

Ventus put the shampoo back on the ring of the tub and his hair clung to his face while heated water drenched his slim body. He stared down at nothing in particular while he stood in deep thought. When did things get so complicated for him? He thought only the popular kids at school had to deal with things like this and for them it seemed like the drama was a daily dose. Then again, Ventus couldn't name too many kids that were blackmailed for saving a cat and almost got a man killed and became a servant and now had a secret they couldn't even tell their twin and spent more time with said man than he did in his own house and this said man's sister thinks they're dating and this said man and they're relationship is a hell of confusing, but they're pretty sure they hate each other and now they're not even sure if they made-out or not. Nope. It seemed like this particular kind of drama was made explicitly for Ventus. "W-Why…m-me…?" The teen hadn't realized how long he'd been in the shower until he started to feel light-headed and saw the amount of water vapor collected on the mirror when he pulled the curtain back. He turned off the nozzle and slowly stepped out the tub to dry off and get dressed. After, he took care of all the other morning hygiene, about to do something with his wet hair when something abruptly dawned on him.

"Ah, crap! I have class today!" Ventus hit the light switch and fled out the room. The wooden stairs made a quick thudding sound as he ran down them, jumping off the last step.

"Ven? Where are you going?" Roxas blinked from the kitchen, taking out an Ego waffle that had just popped up from the toaster.

"Class! I almost forgot!" Ventus stopped by the door to yank on another pair of shoes he had.

"But I thought you were sick…?" Roxas questioned, his eyes narrowed slightly as he felt a tad skeptical.

The blonde wrenched on his last Van, "Uh… I know, but we have an exam today. I can't miss it."

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" The older twin put his plate of Ego's down on the counter and looked towards him. "Maybe you should stay home."

"I'll be fine, Roxas." Ventus turned to the door and placed a hand on the knob, "I'll come back home right after the test."

"…Okaaay…"

Ventus gave a small smile before he waved a hand and exited the apartment. He started running down the street as fast as his legs could force him. His breaths came out heavy and half a mile down the block he wished he hadn't taken that hot shower for so long. He had to stop at a nearby gate to steady his breathing and try to slow down his heart rate. Standing with a hand to his chest, he drew in a gulp of air and sneezed loudly. Ventus wiped his palm across his mouth and wondered where in the world that came from. "I can't actually get sick. Come on," Ventus said before pulling himself together and finishing his run.

* * *

_Call it a nightmare_

* * *

Shoving open the doors of Twilight University, the bolting blonde ran down the hallways, slowing to a speed-walk when a teacher was present. Once he turned a corner, he began to contemplate what class he was actually losing breath _for_. The tired teen leaned against the wall and panted, "I know I've had a lot on my mind, but jeez where'd my stamina go?" Ventus half-joked. He glimpsed up at the ceiling and pondered. _Let's see… I know its exam week… What day is it today? _He pushed himself off the wall and began walking only to soon stop when he realized the day of the week and his shoulders hung low. "Economics," he groaned and for the first time the thought of skipping crossed his mind. _No, the exam is a big part of our grade! I can't…skip it… But I really don't wanna go! _Ventus exhaled. It wasn't like the person he was trying to avoid was going to be there anyways. That person probably said _"Pfft. Exams? Fuck that" _and stayed home. Ventus considered the idea of the dark haired teen speaking these words before he shook his head. "Here I go letting him get to me again. I shouldn't let anyone's presence affect what I need to do," Ventus said determinedly with a clench of his fist. "But still…" he reached room number 266, "I can hope." He paused before slowly extending his arm and turning the handle.

The professor turned his head towards the _click _and students looked up from their test papers at the noise that interrupted their silence. "Mr. Strife. Late again, I see," Professor Vexen said upon Ven's entrance, drumming his fingers on top of his desk. "And on exam day too. Do you realize what time it is?"

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Vexen," Ventus apologized, beginning to walk into the room. "I overslept and lost track of time and-"

"Had to take a shower and all that jazz?" Mr. Vexen assumed from the messy blonde locks. "What did I say about excuses?" His emerald eyes narrowed sharply. "Just get a test and take a seat," Vexen hit his palm against a stack of test papers on his table, the vibration causing some to drift to the floor. "And I'm not giving you extra time," the green-eyed man looked over his shoulder at the clock that read 8:45, "The exam is two hours long and you have about an hour left. What you don't finish during the class will be counted wrong."

Ventus frowned, tempted to defend his side of the argument further, but ended up walking forward and taking a paper from his desk. He bent down and picked up the tests that fell to the floor, placing them back on the professor's table. Mr. Vexen glared at him even further for the selfless gesture until Ventus turned around, mistakenly looking up at the unambiguously golden irises. The blonde gawked for only a split second before he hastily averted his hues to the other side of the classroom and shuffled to his seat in the back corner. The owner of such unique hues, Vanitas, raised an eyebrow as the blonde took his seat as far away from him as possible. It wasn't unusual for Ventus to sit in the far left corner while Vanitas sat on the far right, but something about the blonde seemed…off, like he was edgy or something. Vanitas looked in his direction for a moment before he shrugged, putting his attention back to his test. "Must still be angry about the window," he mused carelessly.

The tapping of pencils against the desk echoed through the class while Ventus stared down at his paper, fists held firmly on his desk. _Just great. He is here. Just my luck! _Ventus blew out air from his puffed cheeks frustratingly. He knew he said he shouldn't let anyone get to him, but maybe he would just accept the fact that Vanitas had a way of getting under his skin without even saying anything. Ventus looked down by his side to poke around his bag for a pencil and focus on his exam rather than his luck, but lady luck seemed to have taken his bag from him too. The blonde blinked as he recalled running out the apartment door in a rush. _I forgot to grab it from my room before I left! Crap._ "Uh…" Ventus glanced up. He felt if he asked Mr. Vexen for a pencil he'd only be pissed and hate him even more than he already gave the impression of. "Excuse me," Ventus said in a low whisper, leaning slightly over his desk towards the person with shoulder-length blonde hair. "Do you have a pencil I can borrow?" he reached out and tapped her shoulder lightly.

The girl turned around, a small smile on her face. "Yeah, Ven."

"Naminé?" He blinked in surprise. "I didn't know you were in this class. Since…when-"

"Shhh," the girl breathed gently, placing an index finger to her poked out lips. "My schedule doesn't usually allow me to come in the mornings, but I'm busy this afternoon. I couldn't miss the test, so I just came in this morning," she explained softly before taking out a #2 pencil from her bag and placing it on Ven's desk.

"O-Oh, I see. Thanks, Naminé."

She only smiled back at him as if to say '_you're welcome'_ before she turned back to her test. Ventus found himself still smiling while he wrote down his name and date on the paper. _Naminé's so nice. Some people need to take some tips from someone like her... _Ventus thought, regretting it later as it brought his attention to the total opposite of the sweet, innocent girl. He looked at Vanitas concentrating on his test paper, his amber eyes moving back and forth as he read a problem then glided his pencil across the paper as he answered it. Ventus's cheeks began to rise in temperature and he turned his head, realizing it wasn't wise to stare at the raven for more than three seconds. He shook his head before looking down at his own test, starting at the first problem.

Time passed as he leaned on his palm, every few seconds fidgeting and letting out a sigh. He would narrow his eyes upon trying to comprehend the problem he would read more than three or four times. Ven could hear the _tick_ of the second-hand on the classroom clock and he would subconsciously squirm in his seat every so often, but the repetitive ticking sound wasn't what made him still stuck on number five after forty-five minutes. What made him so negligent was his feeling of nobody being in the classroom aside from him and _Vanitas_. Although, his seat was already as far as possible, Ventus scowled and turned his body towards the corner of the wall, giving another shot at fully focusing on his exam. "Seventy-five times thirty percent raised to the sixth…square root this…carry that…" he murmured to himself softly, jotting down some things as his mind began to wander. "…It felt so real…" Ventus said, stopping once he realized he was thoughtlessly writing down his feelings on last night. Feverishly, he spun his pencil over to the eraser side and rubbed away the words. The blonde blew the pink shavings off his desk with a short exhale and glanced around the room, but no one seemed to have heard him thinking aloud.

His eyes ran over Vanitas and he was surprised to see the raven appeared done with his test, his paper laid on the corner of the desk with his pencil lazily on top of it. The teen appeared preoccupied texting something into his phone while he leaned back in his seat, one arm resting coolly behind his head. Ventus squeezed his eyes shut and turned back around. _Why won't I stop looking at him_! The blonde tried to make better progress in his depleting amount of time when his phone vibrated in his pocket. "Huh?" He looked down and took it out.

(What's up with u?)

Ventus stared at the text. _Who-_ He paused, recognizing Vanitas's number. He glimpsed over at the raven who wasn't looking at him at the moment as he scratched his ear leisurely. Ventus looked back at his phone with a frown, texting back. (Whadda u mean?)

Shortly afterwards his phone buzzed, receiving a reply. (Don't play dumb. I've seen worms squirm less than u r. Not 2 mention u keep looking at me. Don't think I haven't noticed.)

Ventus's face reddened reading the message. He bit his bottom lip and reflexively texted back the first thought that came to his mind. (It's nothing. I don't wanna talk 2 u.) He shut his phone and laid it on top of his desk. His arm lay limply in his lap and he sighed, resting his head on top of the cool surface of his desk in hopes that it will calm the heated feeling in his cheeks. Ventus wondered if Vanitas read the message already and if he was mad at what he said when his phone soon vibrated again. Quickly picking his head up, the blonde grabbed it before the professor heard the loud rumbling against his table.

A couple of students turned around, but Ventus avoided making eye contact with anyone as he looked down at the reply. (Is it that time of the month?) The blonde teen scowled, turning his head to shoot the raven a glare. Vanitas looked back at him this time, a smug smirk across his features. Ventus rolled his eyes turning back around. He didn't bother replying as he dropped his phone in his lap and slid his test back towards him. A couple more problems into it the blue-eyed teen jumped when he felt the vibration on an area that should not be vibrated on. He blushed before he snatched the phone off his lap and looked down at the receiving message. (Ur no fun. Ya done with that test yet?)

Ventus swiftly replied. (No! So stop txting me so I can finish!)

(What # r u on?)

Ventus paused and looked at his exam in embarrassment. It had almost been an hour into his test and he wasn't even halfway done. The blonde exhaled heavily, growing more frustrated with his situation by the minute. Why couldn't he concentrate? He'd never been a bad test-taker before, but now it was like he couldn't even focus on one problem without his mind wandering off to that stupid dream/reality…_thing_. At times like this he wished he could just erase his mind or merely _forget_, but it was really hard to push the memory aside when A.) It just happened yesterday and B.) The man involved was currently texting him across the room. (I blame u.) The teen replied thoughtlessly hitting the send button.

A second later, Ventus realized his response didn't even answer the simple question, but instead opened up a door for a new topic. He wanted to take it back just when he received the reply, (What r u talking about?) He could imagine Vanitas's look of puzzlement with one black brow arched and his mouth set into a frown while he probably thought '_is this kid retarded?_'

Ventus, refusing to look in his direction anymore, merely responded, (Nothing. I already said earlier I don't wanna talk 2 u.) The blonde turned off his phone after sending the message and slid it back into his pocket. He pulled his bangs back with his hand, resting his forehead in his palm with an agitated sigh. After a moment of ignoring all distractions passed, Ven glanced at the clock that read 9:55. _Fuck! I only have like five minutes left?_

"There's only five minutes left into the exam class," Professor Vexen stated, "so if you're not done," he looked up, his eyes particularly on Ventus, "I suggest you start bubbling in random answers while you can." Some students turned around, following their teacher's leering eyes to the blonde teen in the back corner. Namine gave Ventus a look of concern as the teen groaned, sinking in his seat. He figured the professor might as well had said, "There's only five minutes left into the exam, _Ventus_. So if you're not done, _Ventus, _I suggest you start bubbling in random answers while you can, _Ventus_!" It would make things a lot easier for the few people who were glancing around; still unsure on whom everyone was looking at.

Ventus subconsciously leaned on his elbow, shading a hand over his flushed face as he started going down his test and circling letter choices aimlessly. "I so failed," he grumbled to himself, standing up as the clock hit ten and everyone started turning in their exam. "Namine," he said as the girl gathered her things and looked over her shoulder questioningly. "Here's your pencil back. Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"You're welcome." She took it back with a soft smile and dropped the writing utensil in her bag. "Um…but are you okay, Ven?"

His eyes widened slightly. "Y-Yeah… Don't worry about it." He looked down at his feet to avoid her doubtful expression. "…I'll see you later," he said, moving to the front of the room in somewhat of a hurry. He did promise Roxas he'd return to the apartment right after his exam since he was "sick" and all.

Ventus hadn't noticed Vanitas was in front of him until he glanced up upon turning his paper in on the teacher's desk without giving Mr. Vexen so much of a glance before walking out the door. The light haired teen trudged down the dim-lit hallway, his head slightly hung low. Weird, he was suppose to be in a hurry to get home, but the uncomfortable feeling he felt as Vanitas walked a few steps ahead of him caused him to slow his pace. He glimpsed up at the back of the raven from underneath long lashes before he averted his eyes back to the floor only to look up at him yet again. Why couldn't he stop? He had nothing to say to him, he told him he didn't want to talk to him, he refused to look in his direction anymore, but his eyes were magnetized to him. Why! Ventus couldn't help the heavyhearted sigh that escaped his lips just when Vanitas spoke over his shoulder, "Are you still mad about yesterday?"

The blonde's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He glanced around at the other people that shared the hallway with them before he pointed a finger towards himself, "…M-Me?"

"Who else?" the raven gestured a hand like there was no one else in the hall, though departing students turned around upon hearing Vanitas speak. A lot of them were curious about the two's relationship ever since Ventus's first day in that class when he blurted out the other boy's name. It wasn't hard to tell that Ventus was a good guy who was friendly, considerate and timid at times while they knew Vanitas was unapproachable, self-absorbed and fearless. …What were these two types of people doing talking to each other? It was odd enough to make even the most apathetic person curious.

"…Oh…" Ventus mumbled, looking down at his feet. Vanitas soon stopped walking as he turned around and looked at the blonde flatly. "W-What?" Ventus stuttered, coming to a stop as he looked up at the young man's irritable expression.

"I asked you a question, now give me an answer."

The blonde blinked for a moment at the sudden impatient tone before he scowled. "I don't have to answer you if I don't want to."

"Maybe you wouldn't have a month ago, but today you still have to do whatever I say or have you forgotten, servant boy?"

If a few other classmates weren't paying attention before, they sure did turn around now and Ventus's eyes grew wide as he noticed the attention they were drawing. His enlarged hues quickly fell to a narrowed eyed expression as he gritted his teeth, shooting the teen a glare as if to yell '_you really just said that out loud?_' Vanitas tilted his head over his shoulder towards their eavesdroppers, "Ya'll need something?" The classmates' eyes widened as the piercing shards of amber looked their way. Some gulped as they hastily averted their eyes back in front of them, speechless. "No? Then keep walking," the dark haired male stated threateningly as the group continued leaving or going to their next class.

When all of them were out of listening range Ventus voiced his earlier thoughts, "Thanks for saying that out loud you asshole," he grumbled as he moved to walk forward, but Vanitas held his arm against the wall, blocking him off. "What do you want?" The blonde inadvertently locked eyes with him. "An answer? Yeah, I'm pissed at you, happy now?" He went on the other side of him and advanced down the hall.

Vanitas made a face before he turned around and walked beside him. "For what? Did your brother find out about the window?" he asked, not sounding like he cared in the slightest if he did or not, but merely out of curiosity to what had the other boy so tense.

"Thankfully, no. No thanks to you," Ventus retorted, keeping his eyes firmly forward.

"…You seem…_off_ today."

"…What's that suppose to mean?" The blonde was almost tempted to look at Vanitas.

"Are you dumb? I mean you seem anxious, on edge, like something's bothering you."

Ventus looked to the side at him. He didn't sound genuinely concerned for the blonde's well-being, more so sounded like he was just stating an observation of sorts. "…And what if there is? What difference does it make to you?"

"Look, I'm just telling you what I'm seeing, so feel free to drop the attitude," Vanitas stated, though smirking slightly at the over-dramatic roll of Ventus's eyes. "Although…this side of you is rather interesting. It seems you're not as nice as everybody thinks you are."

Ventus grimaced a little at the bit of truth to his words. Before he met Vanitas, he couldn't remember the last time he put profanity into his words outside of his head or the last time he shot the best glares he could muster at someone. If anyone really saw how he acted around the black haired boy they probably wouldn't even recognize him or at least mistake him for Roxas, the twin more prone to a "No bullshit" personality.

Ventus countered, "And notice that it's only around _you_ that I get like this. Nobody else makes me this frustrated."

"Well, I'm glad I could have such an affect on you." A teasing sarcasm colored the raven's voice.

Ventus looked like he was counting backwards from ten in his head in order to keep his emotions from running wild and make anyone who ran across them say, _"Who is that? Ventus? Nah, no way. Can't be."_

"You wanna know how angry you look right now? 'Cause you look pretty pissed," Vanitas said straightforwardly with a shrug of his shoulders. "I know you're my bitch and all, but that doesn't mean you have to act like one."

Ventus's mouth hung agape, his mental countdown broken. "I-I'm not-!" he immediately defended himself. How dare he say that? He wasn't acting like a bitch! A bitch is someone who started shit and generally yelled and was selfish, always wanting things his/her way and so on and so forth. Ventus was merely upset that everyday seemed to be getting worse and worse for him ever since he became _this raven's_ "bitch". "Look, I just…" Ventus sighed heavily, running a hand through his golden spikes. His voice changed from agitated and unusually bitter into something more gentle, yet standoffish. "I wanna blame you so bad, but I guess…I'm more angry at myself, if anyone…" A melancholy smile adorned his features. "Hell, I can't even remember…" The reminiscence of Vanitas pushing him back against his bed and climbing on top of him, smothering his face with kisses, _touching_ him ever so heatedly occupied his mind.

"…Remember what?" Vanitas asked after a minute of Ventus not finishing his sentence. The blonde stood still for a moment before the raven's question registered in his mind and he shook his head feverishly, moving to walk faster when Vanitas grabbed his arm.

"D-Don't touch me!" Ventus blurted out unexpectedly with a yank of his wrist to Vanitas's surprise. Cerulean hues blinked several times in shock to his sudden outburst as well and he held his arm closely to his chest. "S-Sorry… I-I just…"

"Just what?" Vanitas's eyes were slightly wide as he withdrew his hand back to his side. An expression Ventus had never seen on the cool, collected teen before.

He turned towards him and before his thoughts could piece together the words spilled from his lips, whether in his own overwhelming need to know or to justify his actions. "…What else…happened yesterday…?"

"What are you talking about?" Vanitas inquired and Ventus flicked his eyes to the side as he tried elaborating.

"I mean…after you took me home…"

"Are you stupid? I broke your window and got you in your house."

"…And that's…all you did?"

Vanitas's brows raised in confusion. Why did the other boy look so serious? "…Soon after that I left. After you were done bitching about it, you said you were going to sleep before you offered me the use of your bathroom. I declined, so I left through your window to get on my motorcycle and go back to my apartment."

Ventus swiftly looked back at him, eyes widened in disbelief, "T-That's all?" Vanitas cocked an eyebrow in a way that said '_is there supposed to be more?_' The blonde looked beside himself, troubled, yet relieved at the same time and maybe he would have left the conversation at that if bewilderment didn't still cloud his mind and the almost nostalgic murmur didn't escape him, "So…you didn't…like…um…" Ventus's finger tips subconsciously rose to trace his lips and Vanitas eyed him steadily.

"…Kiss you?" The blonde's face flushed a crimson shade of red that would put Axel's hair to shame and the silence that followed was an answer in itself to Vanitas's question.

It seemed like the perfect opportunity to further mock the boy in front of him, to callously tease him for being so deluded and have a good laugh about it later. And Vanitas would have if he wasn't completely appalled when he felt the heat rise in his own cheeks, coloring his pale complexion a shade that should never adorn him. What was this? A blush on _no_ account ever stained his face! It was _he_ who made other people submit to weakness with his sexy voice and stunning demeanor. Now he ironically stood frozen by the warmth resided across his features. The fact that this feeling even became present in him was unacceptable! "Are you retarded?" Vanitas snapped, unsure whether his anger was coming from being made blush or…yeah. Yeah, it was probably that. "Is that what's been bothering you?"

Ventus's eyes enlarged and maybe he would've noticed the other's embarrassment if he wasn't so preoccupied with his own. He put his palms out in front of him in a defensive manner, "I-I don't know what I was thinking! I-It was just a dream then I gue-"

"You guess? Damn right it was just a dream!" Vanitas retorted. "Did you actually believe even for a _second_ that actually happened?"

Ventus bit his bottom lip. How could he be so stupid? "Sorry!" He spun around on the heel of his foot, "I… I gotta get home!"

Vanitas watched as the light haired boy ran off, disappearing around the corner of the hallway. He scowled and not because Ventus had dreamed of him, but because the thought of the blonde's dream being a _reality_…didn't seem like such a bad idea. Who was he kidding, it almost _was_. Outside of the coffee shop, under the street light, sitting on the curb; Vanitas hadn't been leaning forward just because he had a problem with holding his head up, he'd done it because the subconscious feeling of connecting his lips to the blonde's had momentarily taken over him.

…Of course, if he had followed through with this action, that didn't necessarily mean Ven's hallucination would've come to life. Vanitas wasn't sure if he _just _kissed him in the dream…

"You've gotta be kidding me."

* * *

_Call it a nightmare_

* * *

Ventus turned into his apartment complex, running down the sidewalk towards their residence. He didn't know where the burst of energy came from because on the inside he felt dead and hollow. He felt a mix of emotions really, that he himself had a hard time describing. He was tired and annoyed, but also a little depressed and regretful with a touch of self-loathe while at the same time he wanted to run up to his bed and lay on it for hours, he also wanted to run until he couldn't run anymore. Why the hell did he have to go and admit that to Vanitas? What in the hell possessed him to say that! Now the raven knew he was dreaming- erm, _dreamed_ about him. Of course…Vanitas didn't know the full extent of his dream... And he never will! Ventus would bury this in the farthest corridors of his mind and never dig it up again, ever. The blonde gripped his head as the thought and realization of all the different fledgling emotions were beginning to trigger a headache. He slowed his pace into a walk after his feet pounding into the pavement with every step he ran wasn't really helping the dull pain.

"Ven?" Roxas looked up at his brother from the magazine he held in his hands once the front door creaked open. The twin dog-eared the page he was on and stood up from the living room couch. "You feel any better?"

"No… No, I actually feel worse…" he answered, which wasn't a total lie. Sure, he wasn't actually running-a-fever kind of sick, but he did feel worse than he felt that morning. Roxas walked over to him and took his twin's hands in his own, examining them and then looking over his body. "W-What?" Ventus asked nervously.

Roxas looked into the lost cerulean hues for a second and ignored his question. "I told ya you should've stayed home."

"…Maybe…" Ventus looked away from him. All he did was fail his test, made a fool of himself in his Economics class yet again and confess to Vanitas he had a wet dream about him. Well, not the wet part, but…_UGH!_

"What's up?" Roxas asked. "You look like you just sucked on a lemon."

"N-Nothing. I just…don't feel good." Ventus pulled his hands back to his sides. Why was Roxas holding them anyways?

The older twin seemed to think nothing of it as he stated, "Maybe it would've helped if you actually _took_ some of the medicine this morning." Ventus looked at him in puzzlement and Roxas elaborated, "When I went upstairs I noticed the seal was still on the bottle."

"Oh… Well, once I remembered I had class I was in such a rush I forgot all about it."

Roxas nodded his head, but looked like he wasn't really paying attention. "Hey…I know you said you don't feel well and all, but can I talk to you for a minute?"

Ventus blinked and then rubbed his head. "I don't really feel like talking right now, Roxas…"

"It's important."

Roxas turned around and Ventus stood still for a moment before he murmured, "Fine…" He followed the older blonde up the stairs. Normally, he'd be racking his brain with possibilities as to what Roxas needed to talk to him about and why they were going upstairs to talk about it when they were the only two in the house, but he had enough thoughts hammering his head for one day. Which is why his legs obediently trailed after his brother, something that took no more than one-twelfth of his brain to do.

"Can you explain to me what this is?" Roxas flicked on the light once they turned into their bedroom and Ventus's eyes widened upon seeing the curtains opened on the window; the very window that had a jagged hole staring him in the face.

He just couldn't catch a break, could he?

"Um…" Despite his wishes, he was forced to rack his brain with excuses _now_ and quickly because Roxas was looking back at him, suspicion clear on his face. "What _what_ is?"

"Ventus, the window," Roxas pointed a finger towards it and Ventus noticed he hadn't said Ven.

"Oh, that." _What do I say? What do I say? What do I say!_ "Some kids were playing baseball around here yesterday and hit the ball through our window. It was an accident though, no big deal."

"And putting our bathroom curtains here…were so I wouldn't find out?" Roxas gave him a funny look.

Maybe it wasn't the best plan, but honestly, what else was he suppose to have done? "I was gonna replace the window pane with a new one," Ven explained, "And…I still will, don't worry. The curtain will just help keep the bugs out until I get it. I know I probably should've gotten one on my way back here… Sorry." Not that he even remembered the stupid window after his talk with Vanitas. "I can go get one right now if you wan-"

"Where's the baseball?" Roxas interrupted, looking at the other boy keenly.

Ventus blinked, giving a shrug as he made his face as naturally innocent as possible. "I threw it back to them of course."

"I see. And I suppose this baseball is made of flesh and blood."

"…What?" Ventus's expression mirrored that of incomprehension. Roxas stepped over to the area and pointed down to the dried, wine-red stain on the floor.

…Ventus could only stare at it.

His eyes that were narrowed in confusion gradually enlarged. That…that was the blood that spilled from Vanitas's wound in big, thick droplets. How in the world could Ventus overlook such an important piece of evidence! "Oh… That's mine from when I cut my hand throwing the ball back out the win-" Ventus choked on his words as he came to a pause. Roxas. Roxas looked at his hands when he walked through the door! He hadn't held them just because he felt like touching him. He was seeing if it could've been Ventus's own blood! "Um…"

An amused brow raised on Roxas's face and the smirk that spread over his lips told the younger blonde he'd been caught. "You have no cut on your hand, Ventus." Roxas gestured towards it with a flick of his wrist. "Especially one broken glass could've made."

"I…" What was he suppose to say? Just kidding! He spilled wine they didn't even have in their house on the carpet! Or, he was trying to edit a research paper and his dark red pen exploded!

"Ven?"

"I…" The teen dug deep for an excuse, but all of them only contradicted his previous lies or they were just flat-out unbelievable. He might as well face reality; he was trapped. "Okay…" The blonde sighed defeatedly, uttering a soft mumble, "…It isn't my blood…"

Roxas drew his eyebrows together. "Then whose is it?"

"Someone…" Ventus paused, saying nothing for a moment until he shook his head. Ugh, he was so tired of this! "Alright, I was locked out last night because I forgot my key at home and you were at Axel's so I didn't wanna bother you, so someone had the bright idea to break the window so…they," Ventus stayed away from any pronoun giving away the gender, "could unlock it from the inside and get me in." He exhaled as his short-version story came out fast and breathless.

"Okay…" Roxas rested a hand under his chin as he played the slowed-down translation of Ventus's explanation in his head. "So this blood…" he pointed, "is theirs?" Ventus nodded his head dully and Roxas tilted his head to the side, "And who is _theirs_?"

"Look, just trust me when I tell ya that's what happened, okay?"

"I do believe you..." Roxas stated based on the honesty he saw in his brother's eyes; which, now that he thought about it, was something he didn't remember visible when he would ask him where he was going at night or sometimes, during the day. This little fact only made him that much more skeptical. "But who was in our house yesterday, Ventus?"

The interrogated teenager shrugged lightly. "It wasn't a burglar or anything, so don't worry."

"That's not what I'm asking. Just tell me-"

"You don't tell me everything about your life, so I don't see why I'm always expected to tell you mine." Ventus kicked his shoes off and climbed on top of his bed despite the wide-eyed look on Roxas's face. He plopped his head down on his pillow and it must have been twin telepathy that made his heart ache from the hurt feeling he figured his brother must've felt right now. He immediately sat up and looked in Roxas's direction, "D-Don't take it personally, Roxas. I just…I just wanna keep that to myself, okay?" he said a little softer and more Ventus-like than how he had spoken previously. Roxas looked back at him and he paused for a moment before he reluctantly nodded his head. Ventus knew his twin thought against it and he gripped his covers in his hands. Why? Why couldn't his life go back to being normal? The teen fell back into his mattress. "Goodnight, Roxas," Ventus said, hinting that he was done with this conversation.

"But it's the afternoon," Roxas said flatly, glancing over at their digital clock. "You're going to sleep?" Ventus nodded his head against the cushion, his eyelids now covering his orbs. "Well, don't fall asleep in your clothes or you'll wake up all sweaty again."

The blonde knew that wasn't what had him a mess this morning; which is why he was sleeping on top of his covers, making a mental note to put his sheets in the wash tomorrow. "I won't be asleep long. I have work this evening," Ventus yawned, nuzzling closer to his pillow for some sort of comfort. Besides, he didn't forget about the payment he had to give back to Vanitas in exchange for his freedom and working was the only way he was going to get it.

Roxas looked as if he wanted to say something, but thought differently as he pulled back the curtains over the window before exiting the room. Ventus listened as the door _clicked_ behind him and he couldn't help the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. He hoped he hadn't dented the relationship between him and his twin now, that was a far cry from what he intended. The blonde turned to lie on his back and stared up at the ceiling. How could he think it was real? Now that he thought about it, Vanitas's bleeding hand would have left some kind of proof behind on his sheets if it had happened. And it wasn't like Ventus was drunk or anything yesterday, so why did he have such a hard time separating dream from reality…? Maybe…somewhere in his subconscious…he actually _wanted_ to believe it was real…

Ventus took the pillow from underneath his head and put it over his face, muffling into it before he went to sleep, "…You have got to be kidding me…"

* * *

**A/n:** _So a couple of things to address :D_

_1. I know a lot of you didn't see the whole dream thing coming XD Plot twist! lol But don't worry its reality will come soon. _

_2. Woo~! 8'D Special thanks to: _**Seraphic Night Star, MeeShee MuhFFin, KonataIzumi1, TheBeginingsEnd**, **Russian Prince Kai Hiwatari, GloomyPearl, tHaToNeWeIrDgUrL, linanae**, **Lionwings, TheAnnoyingVoice, Sgofyyah13, Athena Julliette, zackslittlepuppy**, **sarah, myxs, Scarletnight13, shadowdolls, Kitty-Kat-Gone-Bad**, **Innocent Uke Or NOT**, **Anonymous, Arkaraz! **_21 reviews last chapter! 8DD You guys say the sweetest & funniest things! I can't thank all of you enough! T^T –happy cry & hugs for all- I think I'll just reply to reviews by PM from now on instead of the comment corner. Is that ok?_

_3. For the side pairing of Sora and Roxas, which do you guys prefer? Sora/Roxas or Roxas/Sora? :O I for one like both, but I'm curious for what the majority thinks :D _

_4. Ok, how do you guys pronounce Vanitas? xD LOL I know this seems a little late into the story to be saying this, but before I played the game I've been pronouncing it as (VAN-UH-TIS) but once I played it Terra was all (VUH-NEE-TIS) and I was like what? o_o_

_5. My gosh, Vanitas can be a real pain to write as sometimes =_= A lot of the time I find him really fun and, even sometimes, easy to write, but other times I'm like "Agh! Vanitas! Why is your character so difficult?" Especially when his character development involves feelings for someone DX I'm always contemplating the things he'll do and say and how will he say and do it. I really sympathize with those who put him in their stories because I know its hard to get right. So I'm always very happy to hear that I'm doing a good job with him, and the others too :')_

_6. I think that's all. See you guys next chapter and please leave a __**REVIEW**__! 8D I'd love to read from all of you again and new people too~!_


	8. Day 20: That Push to go Foward

**Disclaimer**_: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its original characters. _

**Rating/Genre**_: T, but possibly M in the future. Romance/Drama/Humor._ **Thanks To**_: ConverseG1rl for beta-ing! And instrumental music! R&B, rock, etc. was not helping ._._

**A/n:** _Thanks, __**Allers3**__ for being my 100th reviewer! 8D But I can't thank ALL OF YOU enough! T^T So I updated this quick, huh? lol Nah, I know it's not, my bad. I was planning for this chapter to be much longer than it is. Like, you remember Chapter 4? The one that nearly made me die? Yeah, it was gonna be even longer than that. Like TWO of those. But I decided it'd be better to just make them into two separate ones. Plus you guys won't have to wait AS long for an update._

_'N ohmygawsh, I finished watching Durarara! Have any of you guys seen it? If not, I suggest you do. IZAYA~!_ _Anywho, here's the next installment! Please, read and enjoy~!_

* * *

_90 Days_

_Chapter 8:_

_That push to go forward_

* * *

It'd been two days since Ventus had the discussion with his brother. He ended up missing work that evening as he overslept and the coffee shop called in someone else to work his shift. When he woke up that night, he was slightly irritated that Roxas didn't wake him up or anything, but then again, he couldn't blame him. He could tell his twin was bothered by him not saying _who_ it was in their room and perhaps letting him miss a day of work was the older boy's small way of payback.

Now, Ventus was making up for it by working more hours as he was currently behind the coffee shop's front counter, handing a customer their Chai Latte. "Here you go," he put on a smile as the older women accepted it after paying the small amount of cash. "Come again!" Ventus waved goodbye politely and the glass door closed behind her. The blonde shifted his weight casually on one leg as he reached for his own latte he had purchased for a discount. Raising the beverage up to his lips, he sipped the soothing liquid from the straw.

The past few days have been surprisingly relaxing for him, only describing it as such because his last month has been anything _but_ a vacation and he had expected there to be an uncomfortable tension at home. However, Roxas didn't seem to hold a grudge over him for too long because the following morning, they were fine. Conversing at the kitchen table and laughing at whatever funny was on TV. Of course, neither of them brought up their conversation from the day before, but even so, Ventus was just relieved him and his twin's relationship wasn't in complete shambles like he feared it might be. The blonde employee was also on vacation from school since the University gave a week long break after exams. The only thing Ventus had been spending his time doing was working instead of his usual of adding on schoolwork and doing whatever Vanitas said. Speaking of which, the main reason Ven found his days to be even more calming was the lack of his interaction with Vanitas. The black haired teen hadn't called or ordered him to do anything for him. Not one thing. In fact, Ventus hadn't even talked to the raven since…

He shook his head feverishly. _The furthest corridors of your mind, remember? The furthest!_

"Um, excuse me?"

"O-Oh, sorry!" Ventus looked up from his half-empty cup to see another customer holding a brand muffin and he was surprised he didn't notice the chime when she arrived. Ringing up the object, he kindly said, "A dollar and six cents, ma'am." She handed him the exact change and took her muffin and receipt from his extended hand. "Have a nice day!" Ventus called as she left the shop. He continued to leisurely sip on his drink when he heard the door chime again upon someone else's entrance.

He turned his head to see the familiar short, black hair swaying back and forth with every step. "Xion!"

The girl looked up from the Blackberry held in both her hands and immediately a smile spread across her face. "Hey, Ventus!" She tucked her phone away in her pant's pocket before striding over to the boy. "I didn't know you were here today!"

"I'm making up hours," he smiled back at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just getting out the house for a little bit." She leaned forward to rest her elbows on the surface near the cash register. "It's lonely over there," she said, dropping her face into the palms of her hands with a frown.

"It is?" Ventus questioned, looking down at her. "But… Isn't…? Um…"

Xion raised her thin brows, blinking up at the teen. "…Vanitas there?" she assumed. "No. He went out somewhere. As to where to, I'm not sure. Like I mentioned before, he doesn't tell me these things," she puffed out her cheeks childishly before exhaling. "But I would think he would've told you."

"Oh…" Ventus scratched the back of his head. "No."

Xion tilted her head to the side as she looked at him puzzlingly. "I haven't seen you over at the house in a couple days either. Which is weird because you're usually always over," she frowned in mild concern, "Are you guys fighting?"

"…Aren't we always?" Ventus decided to say after a prolonged pause. He figured it was a safe enough answer and, more or less, true.

"Yeah…" Xion tapped her chin. "Sometimes I don't understand how you guys are even dating."

"It's almost like we're not," Ventus breathed. If she only knew how true_ that_ statement was.

Xion shrugged a bit before a grin swept away her frown. "But don't let it get'cha down! I'm sure you guys can work it out!" she rose up from the counter to clinch a fist in enthusiasm. "My brother may not seem like it, but he does have a heart." Her expression was warm as she smiled at Ventus, almost admirably. "You should know that better than anyone."

The blonde teen said nothing as he fiddled with the cash register, hoping his face wasn't as red as it felt. What was she talking about? Ventus had only known him for about a month now and half of the things Vanitas did made no sense to him. The raven was someone who had him blackmailed and would sue him in a heartbeat if he didn't agree to such terms. He threatened to break his arm one time and got pissed off at him for even dreaming about him, like Ventus could help that! If anything, he was the_ least_ likely person to know Vanitas had a heart or lack thereof_._ So how could he, someone who wasn't even romantically involved with him, possibly know that better than anyone? "Xion…" he began slowly, his thoughts making a sudden question rise in his mind, "has Vanitas ever…dated anyone...? Else, I mean."

The sister looked at him funny as one dark brow arched and she wore a small pout. Her head nodded once. "Oh yeah," she answered, to Ventus's surprise, rather bluntly. "But don't worry, none of those girls have anything on you!" She chuckled faintly. "They were more like flings than girlfriends. I always felt bad for not warning them though. '_He's only gonna break your heart!_' or '_It's not as deep as you think it is!_' but Vanitas would kill me if I was a cock-block." Xion scratched her cheek, a frown across her face, "Which really sucked 'cause one of them was my best friend..."

"Seriously?" Ventus's eyes widened as he reflexively leaned forward on the counter. "Namine?" he asked, never expecting the sweet and innocent girl that he described to be Vanitas's exact opposite to be the raven's…well, _type_.

"No way," Xion snorted. "Kairi. She thought just because she lost her virginity to him that he was bound to her forever. Boy, was she dead wrong."

Ventus's blue hues enlarged even further, if possible. _What?_ "…Vanitas and Kairi…had…?" A blush crept on his face and he bit his bottom lip, unable to finish his sentence with the three letter word.

"Yeah… Sex," Xion shuddered, her face reddening a tad as well. "I-I told her to wait, but noooo! She was all '_He loves me! I think I'm ready!_' blah blah blah. Between you and me," she held a hand up to the side of her mouth as if she were whispering a secret, "I think she was just trying to fill the void from where she lost Sora, but she would never admit to that."

"…Wow… That's…" Ventus didn't know what to say. He was at a loss for words. He recalled a moment where he wondered whether the teen was a virgin or not, but didn't think too much of it. Now that he _knew _that he_ wasn't_…it was like a slap-in-the-face surprise to him. Why? The man practically defined sin and it was the raven's choice to sleep with whoever he wanted. Ventus shouldn't care. He didn't care. Not even in the slightest...

"But, uh," Xion started optimistically, catching the expression across the blonde's face, "You're the first _boy_ Vanitas's ever dated! And you've been with him for the longest! I have to say I'm surprised he chose a boy, but…it's just so cute!" She grinned widely making Ventus feel even more uncomfortable than he already was. He hadn't even realized he'd been blushing until Xion pointed it out excitedly, "Aw, Ven! You're face is all red!"

"X-Xion, are you going to buy anything?" the blonde quickly changed the subject as he fidgeted with the buttons on the cash register.

"Oh! I wish I could…" she placed a hand to her stomach making a slightly pained face, "I'm pretty hungry, but we just paid rent so I'm sort of broke at the moment."

"Oh..." Ventus said before glancing up at her, "I can buy you something, if you want."

"Really?" Xion beamed. "You'd do that?"

He nodded his head, a smile appearing on his face now. "Of course. What are friends for?"

"Aw, thanks!" She spun around and Ventus watched as she ventured down the isles happily for something to snack on. It wasn't long until the teenage girl came back with a jumbo honey bun in her hands and handed it to the blonde.

"These are good. Nice choice," he said, looking down at it. Ventus rang it up and then slid his card into the slot to pay for it. After, he held it back out to Xion, "Here ya go."

"Thanks, Ven," she accepted it cheerfully. "I'll pay you back my next paycheck. I promise."

"You don't have to, don't worry. It was only ninety-nine cents for me."

Xion ripped open the wrapper that stood in the way between her lips and calorie-packed goodness. "Are you working late today?" She glimpsed up at him after taking a bite into the pastry, a soft '_mmm_' expressing her approval.

Ventus smiled. "I've been here since five 'o clock in the morning. My shifts almost over in…" he looked to the side at a clock above the coffee bean rack, "whoa, about ten minutes actually!" he exclaimed to his surprise. He'd been working all day, but it only seemed like a couple of hours.

"That's perfect!" Xion blurted out, quickly putting a hand over her mouth until she was done chewing and gulped. "You wanna hang out then? I remember you called me before and I was busy, but now's a great time!"

"Sure," he looked back at her. "I just need to finish up here and we can go, uh, where to?"

Xion shrugged lightly. "I don't know. Where do you wanna go?"

"It doesn't really matter to me. Anywhere is good."

"M'kay, in that case you can just trek around town with me."

The boy laughed a bit. "Sounds good."

* * *

_That push to go forward_

* * *

The air was cool outside as the sun's face was only peeked out behind big, puffy clouds. Ventus and Xion were walking past Twilight University on their way back to the girl's apartment. They spent a couple hours around the area, stopping at a videogame store where they looked at the latest releases and Ven tried out the new system that was fresh on the market. They went into clothing stores where Xion would always giggle at the blonde's discomfort when she would drag him down the women's isle before they looked at men's attire. The teens visited small retail shops selling assortments of things and dropped by a pet store so Xion could '_awww_' at the little puppies and fish while Ventus petted a cat through the cage bars. It hadn't looked like the one he rescued, but it did remind him of it. Enough so that he had to step back from the cage before his mind relived the accident all over again. The two would've continued browsing together if the raven-headed girl hadn't gotten a call from one of her female friends asking for her assistance.

The roads weren't too busy; Ventus noticed this as they crossed one to the other side of the street towards Badlands Drive. Coming to an intersection and turning the corner, they entered the back entrance of the complex. They began walking up the slight incline of the street, moving over to the grass when a car came down the road.

"Thanks for walking me home, Ven. I know it's not a short walk back to your place. And sorry that we couldn't hang out longer," Xion waved her cellphone in the air for emphasis after she just sent a text, "Kairi calls."

"No, it's fine… I had fu- OOF!" The blonde suddenly found himself on the ground; face first into something thick and gooey. He heard the girl giggling behind him as he groaned, pushing himself up with both arms and standing to his feet. "Ah, my shirt!" the teen exclaimed, looking down at the splattered mud on his clothes.

"I guess some spots are still wet from the rain the other day." Xion looked back at the slightly lowered soil he tripped into. "Are you okay though?" she turned back to him.

"Yeah…" Ventus wiped some of the dirt off his face, the dregs falling back down in the grass. He attempted to pick some of the brown muck out his hair until he hopelessly dropped his hand. "I'll wash it out once I get home," he exhaled.

Xion still snickered a bit, "Aw, but it looks great on you," she grinned and Ventus couldn't help but laugh at her joke. They reached the apartment labeled 606 and the teenaged girl stopped in front of the door and fished out the house key from her back pocket. Unlocking the door, she waved a hand goodbye before stepping into her living room. She was about to shut the front door behind her when something dawned on her and she cracked it back open, leaning her head out before the departing blonde got far, "Hey, will I see you at the party tonight?" Xion called.

Ventus stopped and looked over his shoulder, his eyebrows arched. The cerulean irises blinked multiple times. "Party?"

"Uh-huh," Xion nodded, stepping back outside. "That's what I've been asked to help with. Kairi's throwing a party at her place since she aced all her exams! She was really happy."

"…How does she know?"

"Her grandma knows the dean," Xion shrugged. "I even got her to find out mine, in which I passed all of them with A's except one with a low C, but still!" she finished with a wide grin.

Ventus wished he was that confident in his own test scores. He was pretty sure he did well on everything else, but Economics on the other hand… "Oh…" he said slowly. "I never heard about this. It's tonight?"

"Yeah," Xion frowned, "Nobody told you?"

Ventus shook his head from side to side. "This is my first time hearing about it."

Xion made a sound of disapproval in the back of her throat, "Ugh, you can't count on anybody. I told Roxas to tell you! Sorry, if I had known, I would've told you myself." She rolled her eyes irritably before she clasped her hands together in a completely different manner, "But please tell me you'll go anyways, despite the short notice? It'll be fun!"

Ventus blinked in surprise, looking at her pleading cobalt eyes. He probably would've told her yes at that moment as Xion utilized the puppy-dog look to her advantage rather well, yet…something made him reluctant to answer. It wasn't like he had anything else planned for the day. He had no reason _not_ to go, but…after hearing that little bit of information on the auburn haired girl and Vanitas, it made some unknown emotion inside him scream out in rejection to the invite. W_hy_?

Ventus was going to stop paying attention to his subconscious these days because it never made any sense to him. "Sure, I… I guess I'll go. But Kairi doesn't really know me that well," he added. He only knew her through Sora, being his ex-girlfriend and all. Other than that, the two of them never really talked.

"But she's one of my best friends," Xion explained upliftingly, "so I say you can go! Along with Roxas, so I can strangle him for not telling you!" She unlaced her fingers to place her hands on her hips with a scowl.

Ventus gave a small sideways smile. "Did he say he was going?"

"I don't know… I asked him, but he hasn't really given me a solid answer." Xion exhaled exasperatingly.

"Oh…" The blonde's smile fell, only to come back and reassure her, "I'll ask him when I get home for ya. Promise."

Her mood lifted as she returned the gesture, "Thanks, Ven."

* * *

_That push to go forward_

* * *

"No, Axel! Get off me!"

"Come on, man. You know you want to!"

"That's the understatement of the year!" The blonde teen writhed as he tried to break free of the red-head's strong grip. "Now get off me! You're cutting off the circulation to my legs!"

"And I will!" The year older boy had one of his friend's arm pinned behind his back as he rested his weight on the back of the blonde's thighs while Roxas laid front side down on the mattress. "Just as soon as you say yes. Please, just this one time?"

"No! I already said no!" Roxas struggled, using his free arm to give himself enough strength to roll out from under the teen. Axel made a slight '_oof_' sound as he fell to the side and Roxas exhaled, sitting up from the bed and adjusting his twisted T-shirt along with his out of place hair that stuck out messily in even more different directions than it normally did. "I'm not wasting my time at some stupid party where a bunch of wild teenagers just get drunk and have sex."

Axel sat up and shook his head amusingly before he wiggled his index finger in a '_tsk tsk' _sort of fashion. "Roxas, you seem to forget that we're in _college_. That's what the life is! You're seriously going to look back on your college days knowing you didn't go to any college parties?"

"Sure, why not," he answered stubbornly, standing to his feet and marching over to his bedroom door. He paused, turning around to the other man. "Wait a second,_ you_ leave. This is my apartment."

"You're just going to kick me out?" Axel moped, looking towards the door.

"I didn't invite you in," Roxas informed as he turned the knob, "because I knew you were going to bring up this dumb party yet again."

Axel scratched the back of his head. "You'd think you'd just say yes already," he murmured.

"No." Roxas stated in a stern tone of voice. He pointed out the doorway, "Go."

"Roxas, come on. Everybody's going!" Axel exclaimed and the blonde made a face that rhetorically read '_and why should I care?_' The redhead elaborated in hopes that he'd reconsider, "Your past girlfriends will be there. Your best friends. Your seemingly lifelong _crush_." A sly smirk lifted the corners of Axel's mouth as he eyed the blonde suggestively. _Got 'em_, he thought.

Roxas flicked his eyes to the side, a light blush appearing on his face. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

Axel teased, leaning forward, "Then why can't you look me in the face when you say that?"

"Axel. Leave." The blonde declared, surprising Axel with his flustered demeanor only being a brief one.

_Dammit._ The man's expression softened as he tried a different approach, "You don't wanna be here all alone, do you?" Axel frowned, but nonetheless it was a serious question.

"It's fine by me." Roxas rested his arms on one another as he crossed them over his chest. "You guys have fun. I'll be here."

"Roxas…" Axel sighed heavily before throwing his arms up into the air in a temporary surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll give you a _little_ bit more time to think about it." He stood up and walked towards the door, pointing towards the blonde as Roxas leaned back from the extended index finger in his face, "But you better change your mind soon, got it memorized?" He pushed the blonde's forehead lightly.

"Like hell!" Roxas called down the hall after his friend exited out his bedroom and he shut the door.

"Geez, he can be so hard-headed sometimes," Axel mumbled. Apparently, it was going to take more than his and Xion's influence to get their buddy to have a change of heart. Though, Axel couldn't see what the problem was. Go to a fun party and have a good time or stay at home? The answer seemed pretty obvious to him. The older teen walked down the stairs, contemplating how anyone would choose to stay at home, when the front door cracked open. Axel looked up to see the face akin to the boy's he just talked to. "Ven!" he called, quickly going down the steps and running over to him. The blonde just closed the door behind him when two hands abruptly clamped down on both his shoulders. "You're just in time!"

"H-Huh?" Ventus stammered, somewhat startled. He blinked up at the teen, "Axel? What are you doing here?"

"Your brother's one stubborn- Dude, what happened to you?" Axel raised his brows, pushing the blonde back slightly to get a better view of him.

Ventus glanced down at his dirtied figure for a second. "I just fell," he mumbled in response. "But what were you talking about? In time for what?"

"Uh," the teen shook his head before shaking the blonde's shoulders back and forth, "to talk some sense into Roxas! You're his twin after all!"

"W-What?" The light haired teen's words came out shaky as he was being jostled. "F-For w-what?"

"For what? The party!" Axel continued manhandling the boy. "Don't tell me you don't know!"

Gosh, did everybody know? "I-I just found out about it," Ventus squirmed out of Axel's grasp as he took a step back, trying not to trip over his feet as he felt a tad dizzy.

"Really?" Axel asked, resting his hands on his hips. "Weird, I thought Roxas would've at least mentioned it to ya."

Ventus looked up at him before he glanced down at the carpet, "Me too…" he said quietly, speaking up as he explained, "but Xion told me a little while ago."

"Xion? That a girl!" Axel clinched a fist, a wide grin across his face. "But you will talk to Roxas about going, won't you? Convince him to join the dark side?"

"Dark side?" Ventus repeated questioningly.

"Going to the party, little buddy," Axel laughed, ruffling the blonde spikes. "_After_ you get this gunk out your hair. Not attractive to the ladies, man."

"I will," Ventus said, making a face that resembled a child's when unwantingly being babied.

"Well, I best be going now. Got things to do," the fiery haired boy chimed taking his hand away from the blonde's head. "Talk to him for me, will ya?" He waved a hand, stepping over to their front exit.

Ventus turned towards the opening door. "Uh, yeah, I will!" he said as the door clicked shut. The blonde stood in place for a moment before he looked down and tugged at the collar of his shirt. Axel was right, first thing first, a shower.

* * *

_That push to go forward_

* * *

_BRING! BRING! BRING! _Roxas looked up at the ceiling from his bed as he reached over to the side, fondling his mattress until he touched his red phone. Picking it up, he hit the button that took the call, being very familiar with all the controls, and held it to his ear. "What?"

"Think about it…"

"Axel! Shutup!" He clicked the red icon that ended the call and dropped his hand back down on his bed. Maybe if he had bothered to look at the caller ID he wouldn't have picked u- _BRING! BRING! BRING! _"Oh, my-!" he grumbled, hitting answer-call, "_What_?"

"The party is tonight…"

"I don't care, Axel! For the last time, I'm not going!" The blonde twin snapped his phone shut again. This was just getting plain annoying. How many times did a guy have to say- _BRING! BRING! -CLICK! _"MAN, I'M NOT PICKING UP ANYMORE IF YOU DON'T ST-!"

"Whoa, sorry, Roxas. Bad time?"

The cerulean hues enlarged at the new voice. "O-Oh, Sora." Roxas's tone sounded less agitated and he cleared his throat embarrassingly. "Sorry, I just got finished talking to Axel."

The brunette laughed on the other line. "It's cool. I know how that goes... Hey, uh, I just called to see what's the status on you and Kairi's party?"

Roxas's expression fell as he rolled his eyes up at the popcorn ceiling. His voice automatically went back to how he had spoken to his older friend. "I'm not going," he said bluntly.

"You're not?" Roxas could hear the disappointment. "Why not?"

"I'm not the party guy like you, Sora."

"So? Riku isn't either and he's still going."

"Yes, because telling me Riku's going is really gonna make me change my mind."

"My bad…" Sora scratched the side of his head. "But still… It won't be the same without my best friend there."

Roxas paused for a moment. "…You already said Riku will be there."

"You know what I mean, Roxas," Sora stated. "You're like my best-best friend, like I am to you, right?"

Roxas's response was delayed as he pondered why Sora would even ask him that. Was he _trying_ to bring up their argument of Roxas's unexpected kiss again...? The blonde shook his head fervently. No! They already got pass that! He was just looking in to things too hard. The question was an innocent one. "Yeah," he answered before he hesitated for too long.

"SO GO!"

"Sora…" Roxas exhaled, resting his free arm over his forehead in an exasperating manner as he blocked some of the rays from his ceiling light in the process. "I don't want to."

"Why?" the brunette insisted. "You have not given me a legitimate reason why you won't."

"Do I need to? If I don't wanna go then I won't go," the blonde boy said firmly. After a few still seconds passed, he was beginning to think his friend just hung up on him. "…Sora? Sor-"

"Pick you up at nine, Roxas."

"What?" Roxas flew up from his relaxed position. "No! Sora! Sora!" He took the phone away from his ear and saw the words 'Call Ended' across the screen. "Ugh!" he rolled his blue irises, flopping back down on his bed. "They're so persistent…" He had drifted his eyes close when the smell of soap wafted in to the room.

The younger teen walked in, patting his golden locks with a lime colored towel while another one was wrapped around his waist since he went straight to the wash after conversing with Axel and brought in no change of clothes. "Hey," Ventus said looking over at his twin.

"Hey," Roxas replied, opening his eyes to give him a quick glance.

Ventus removed the towel from his head and draped it over one shoulder. His hair was still damp and cool against his skin, but at least it wasn't dripping wet anymore. "You heard about a party Kairi's throwing?"

"Ven," Roxas spoke, almost warningly, "Not you too."

"Wait a second," he waved his hands out in front of him in a defensive manner, "just hear me out." Ventus walked over to their closet to rummage for something to wear. "You heard about it, right?"

"Yes. Sora was the first one to tell me about it."

"And you didn't tell me?" The younger brother pulled out a sky-blue V-neck and a pair of pants before he looked back towards his twin. He saw Roxas shrug indifferently and Ventus frowned, looking away from him and down to the garments in his fists. "…So are you going?"

Roxas noticed his twin's saddened tone and felt a sudden guilt in his chest. He didn't mean to come off as insensible, he was just already irritated by his numerous invites to a party he wasn't interested in going to. "…I don't really want to," he began slowly, making sure his voice was gentle, "but Sora insists I go…" He and the brunette were roughly back to the way things use to be. Though, it didn't start off that way the couple days that followed the day of their argument. Roxas noted Sora would look a lot more bug-eyed when he leaned too close to him, even when doing something as simple as reaching his hand over for a pencil while Sora would murmur 'oh.' But now, Roxas could grab his pencil and Sora wouldn't even budge. They were back to being best friends and that…was a good thing, right? Roxas couldn't help the sigh that escaped him before he added, "along with Xion and Axel."

"Oh. Yeah, Xion's the one who told me about it," Ventus pulled on the shirt over his head, the material loosely hugging his chest.

"Are _you_ going?" Roxas asked.

"I guess so..." Ventus remembered what he told Xion. "I have nothing else to do today," he scratched the side of his face. His schedule was pretty much empty unless Vanitas all of a sudden called him to do something… The blonde's eyes gradually widened. Vanitas! What if _he_ was going to the party? His sister was attending and apparently his ex-girlfriend/fling…_person_ was throwing it, so why wouldn't there be a possibility he'd be there? How could he not even have thought of that? "…W-Whose going?" Ventus asked, his sudden anxious tone making Roxas blink, "Do you know?"

"Uh…" Roxas glanced at him, "Xion said Kairi basically invited everyone we went to school with."

Ventus's eyebrows knitted together, "That's a lot of people."

"Yeah, I know," Roxas said dully. "But her grandparents are rich, whadda ya expect?" If anything, that should give the older twin all the more reason _not_ to go. With so many people there, it was bound to get crazy.

"Oh, yeah..." Ventus mused. So that meant Vanitas could very well be there tonight. Was it too late to change his mind? That subconscious feeling was attempting to talk to him again, telling him that it wasn't too late. He could always stay home. Perhaps he would join Roxas and just pass on the invite… No. He already told Xion he would go and made it sound like he would try his best to get Roxas to attend, not to mention he told Axel he would. It sounded to Ventus like Kairi's place was pretty large anyways so avoiding the raven shouldn't be much of a problem... Besides, how would it look if there he was trying to hype up his twin into going when he himself wasn't even planning to? He frowned before looking towards Roxas, "You should go."

"Ven," Roxas sat up. He rested his elbows on his bent knees as his legs hung off the side of the bed, "its _Kairi's_ party. She doesn't really like me."

"You don't know that for sure," Ventus pointed out. "And she doesn't even really know me and I'm still going."

"Well, everyone warms up to you so that's not a problem."

Ventus blinked puzzlingly before he elaborated, "Like you said, Roxas, a lot of people are going to be there. It's not like you're forced to talk to her or anything. And I doubt she knows or exceptionally likes everyone that'll show up. Our high school class isn't exactly small."

"…You've got a point," Roxas crossed his arms, "but still..."

Ventus narrowed his orbs as if he were trying to understand something. "Why don't you like Kairi?" He wasn't too familiar with the girl, but he knew she wasn't some evil witch-like person and she was one of Xion's best friends, right? So she couldn't be all that bad…

"It's not that I…_dislike_ her…" Roxas spoke while looking at the floor between his feet.

"Then what?" The younger twin blinked innocently and Roxas looked at his brother.

Kairi had dated Sora for awhile. When they were children it was obvious the girl had a crush on the brunette and a few years down the line, the feelings became mutual. It was then that Roxas began to distance himself from her. He didn't want to see her hold hands with Sora, hug Sora and definitely _kiss_ Sora. Avoiding the auburn haired chick also meant less time with his brunette friend, but in the time he did, he got to make other friends like Xion, Axel, Hayner and the gang. Hell, he even dated Olette in middle school and Namine in high school, all while his best friend was _still_ with Kairi. The two were probably your picture perfect couple. They looked good together, their personalities went well together, they even won prom King and Queen senior year and Roxas couldn't stand it._ Any_ of it. It was apparent that the feeling that had grown inside him towards the girl was sheer jealousy and he had no _real _reason to hate her unless envy was a good enough one.

But when Sora broke up with his girlfriend months after graduation, it took the blonde totally and utterly by surprise. Sora explained to him that the breakup was mutual, but how? Even if Roxas _hated_ to admit it, they were perfect for each other. They dated most of their school life and after graduation day, Roxas pretty much lost all hope and concluded they were going to get married, raise a family and he wasn't even going to be a factor in Sora's romantic life. And how could he be? He was a _guy_. Sora was his best _friend_. Roxas knew all this, yet couldn't help the brief feeling of hope upon the news Sora told him. It was then, that he noted, the hate between him and Kairi became not so one-sided. It wasn't like Sora hated her and didn't want anything to do with her after their breakup. He still considered Kairi one of his dearest and closest friends. Kairi and Riku to him were like Axel and Xion to Roxas. So imagine the blonde's confusion when every time the girl even looked at him, she frowned, almost like it _hurt_ to look at him. By this time, their relationship was already a three out of ten at best, so Roxas didn't really care if she didn't like him. This only made him not change his feelings towards her. Things were just never going to be well between him and Kairi. And that was that.

Roxas's eyes were still on his twin and Ventus stared back at him, waiting for a response. "No reason," he said nonchalantly as he stood up from his bed.

"No reason?" Ventus repeated, looking up at him. "What do you mean? There's got to be. You know this is exactly what I meant when I said-"

"I don't tell you everything about my life?" Roxas asked and Ventus bit down on his bottom lip, not meaning to bring up their window conversation.

"I…"

Roxas stared at him for a moment before he turned his head, walking over to the door. "I'm going to go take a bath. And forget about the party, I'm not going."

"Wait! Roxas!" The blonde extended his arm, but the bedroom door already shut close. Ven looked down at the floor and solemnly began picking out a pair of boxers from their closet. "Sorry, Axel…"

* * *

_That push to go forward_

* * *

That night…

Ventus sat on the couch near their living room window. His knees were bent as his legs were up on the couch and he leaned on the arm of the sofa, his cheek rested in his palm. He was aware the party was starting, if not now, was soon to be in a few minutes. He knew he told Xion he would go, but he was beginning to have second thoughts...or maybe this was his third or fourth time reevaluating his decision. Something in the back of his mind was still bothering him. His reason for ignoring it though was because he didn't want to sound like a hypocrite when trying to convince Roxas. Now that his twin seemed dead-set on not going, Ventus's reasoning for staying was that he didn't want to leave Roxas at the apartment all by himself. That would be so boring. Though, the silence the two were sitting in wasn't all too "exciting"either.

The younger twin knew his brother was probably wondering why he was still at the house and not on his way to Kairi's place, but not wishing to bring up the topic again, Roxas merely sat at the table eating some leftover lasagna he made earlier that week, his eyes lying only on the Italian cuisine under him.

Ventus wasn't really doing anything, just sort of sitting and thinking. He gazed down intently at the floor only turning his head when he heard the low motor outside their house. For a second, his heart skipped a beat as he mistook the sound for a certain vehicle. He leaned towards the window and parted two blinds with his thumb and index finger to peek through the glass. "Hey…" he started steadily, "Isn't that Riku's car outside? …The silver Corvette?"

Roxas raised his head at these words. "What?" He stood up from the table and joined his twin to look through the blinds. "Ah, fuck it is." He leaned back after taking a quick peek at the now parked car. "No doubt Sora's probably in the car with him too," the teen claimed, knowing Riku would never just drop by unless influenced by his friend.

"I don't think Riku's in it at all," Ventus said upon seeing the car door open and the brunette step out from the driver's side. Ven looked back over his shoulder and the blondes blinked at one another when a knock came to their door.

"You get it," Roxas insisted with a motion of his hand.

Ventus obediently stood up from the couch and walked over to the front door, elevating himself on his tip-toes slightly to look through the peep hole. "Yep, it's just Sora."

Roxas cringed a bit at the name. "Crap, he actually came?" he said, more to himself than to Ven. Although he didn't find it too surprising in the back of his mind. Sora was a man of his word, which was another thing Roxas liked about him, but at times like this he found the trait to be aggravating. The blonde turned around and began to flee upstairs.

"Where are you going?" Ventus looked back at him. "I said Sora was here."

"And tell Sora I'm_ not _here. _You_ can go with him." Roxas went up the steps and Ventus heard their bedroom door shut.

He blinked and turned back to the front door, twisting the knob with his hand. "Hey, Sora," he greeted answering the door.

"Hey, Ven." Sora smiled at him before tilting his head to try to look over the boy's shoulder. "Where's Roxas?"

"Oh, he's…uh…" Was Roxas expecting Ven to lie for him? "He's at Axel's place."

Sora looked at the blonde confusingly for a moment before a smirk sketched over his face. "Hm. Well, can I still come in?"

"Oh, um…"

Sora placed a hand on the side of Ven's shoulder and gently pushed passed the boy in to the living room. He glimpsed around the space, seeing no sign of his stubborn friend. He looked to the side and his eyes ran over the table. The brunette walked over to it, picking up the fork of lasagna and stuffing it in his mouth. He chewed before gulping it down, a smile gracing his features. "It's good. Roxas made this, right?"

Ventus nodded his head, still standing at the door, but shut it behind him. "How'd you know?"

"…I don't know," Sora shrugged absently, "From knowing him so long, I guess." He put down the fork and turned, pointing up the steps, "Is he upstairs?"

"I-I said he was at Axel's."

Sora tossed him a toothy grin. "Would you be mad if I said I didn't believe you?" Ventus's face reddened at his inability to lie to Sora. He had known him since they were young. It was hard to deceive someone like that, especially doing it halfheartedly. Sora chuckled at the boy's expression then initiated going up the stairs.

"Nn, wait!" Ventus followed him.

Sora knocked on the bedroom door, "Roxas? Roxas, it's me!" _Shit!_ The blonde thought to himself from inside his room. Didn't he tell Ventus to tell him he _wasn't _here? Roxas sprung up from his bed, running over towards the door to lock it with a flick of his wrist until the door collided with his forehead, making him fall to the ground. "I'm coming-" Sora blinked, looking down at his friend, "in…? Roxas, are you okay!"

The blonde groaned, holding his head as he stood to his feet, "Unless you have a_ good_ reason to be here-"

"I told you I was picking you up at nine," Sora tapped his wrist as if he had a watch on. "Come on. The car's running." He reached out and took the other teen's hand.

"No," Roxas tried to pull away from the brunette's grip. "Let go of me, Sora."

"No way! It'll be fun, don't worry." He pulled Roxas out the room, making the boy stumble behind him. Ventus wasn't sure whether Sora was just stronger than Roxas or if, at the moment, he was more determined than his twin.

Roxas continued pulling the opposite way of his friend. "Sora, if you don't stop-!"

"You're going to fall down the stairs if you don't walk," Sora frowned as he informed him when they were close to the staircase. "Or you're gonna force me to have to carry you."

Roxas's face flushed out of the sheer humility of the suggestion. "You are _not_ carrying me down the stairs!"

"I won't have to if you willingly walk!"

"How many times do I have to say I'm not going?"

"Please, Roxas?" His voice was soft and his eyes were insistent as he stopped tugging to turn and look the blonde in the eyes. It reminded Ventus a lot of Xion's big, blue pleading hues and he considered that the look might run in the family, although he couldn't see Vanitas giving the puppy-dog eyes to enforce_ any_ sort of desires or wishes. Still, something set Sora's expression apart from Xion's as it looked like it was coming from somewhere more sincere. So much so that Ventus himself wanted to go now and Sora wasn't even talking to him.

Roxas licked his lips dryly. It was hard enough to decline the invite over the phone, but now that the brunette was in front of him, locking gazes with him, the warmth of his hand against his own, it made Roxas's heart begin to noticeably thud inside his chest. "…Y- You're impossible." Roxas scowled, but commenced down the steps, this time pulling Sora by the arm.

Sora looked surprised for a brief second before he smiled widely, following behind his best friend as he allowed himself to be led. He looked up over his shoulder, "Come on, Ven! You're coming too, right?"

"U-uh, sure." He walked downstairs where Roxas let go of Sora's hand once he realized they were still intertwined. Blushing lightly, the older twin turned the knob and opened the door with Sora exiting after him. Ventus stepped out as well once he locked and closed the door. The three walked over to the Corvette. The sky was pitch dark and only the headlights of the car and streetlights were allowing them to see. Opening the door for the seat behind the driver's, Ventus asked, "Where's Riku?"

"Already at the party," Sora got into the car. "I told him I'd need to borrow his car to pick_ you_ up actually, Ven," he laughed lightly, "Since he most likely wouldn't let me have the keys if I directly told him I was getting Roxas." Said blonde rolled his eyes and Sora added, "He said it was fine as long as I drove him home on the way back. Which, of course, means I can't drink, but whatever."

"Why are a bunch of eighteen to nineteen year olds going to be drinking anyways?" Roxas spoke from the passenger's seat, "Like we're all twenty-one and older."

"It's college, Roxas." Sora said before buckling on his seatbelt and reversing out the parking lot. "College."

* * *

**A/n:** _Special thanks to:_ **tHaToNeWeIrDgUrL, OmniaVanitas, Lionwings, chrisal, TheAnnoyingVoice, SkyeDescent, DarkSapphireXx, Sgofyyah13, Arkaraz, KonataIzumi1, BlueEyesWhiteDragon3000, C212, Kitty-Kat-Gone-Bad, Innocent Uke Or NOT, VIII, Athena Julliette, Naomi **_(haha!)_**, OhDaaaym, Allers3, zackslittlepuppy, MaikaKitsune18! **_And those who have alerted, favorited, etc._

_No Vanitas in this chapter? D: WHAT? Even if I complained about him last a/n, I miss him already! But don't worry he will be in the next chapter & the one after that & probably the one after that & after that, but maaaybe not the one after that. I'm kidding XD lol_

_And I don't plan for Kairi to be some super-bitch in this story like she is frequently portrayed as. In fact, I see Xion portayed as a bitch a lot too. Why is that? :/ Hell, I admit I'm guilty of making Kairi one in most of my KH fics that call for her when she's nothing like that in the games xD And neither is Xion haha I love Xion though._

_I'm excited to write the next chapter in which I thought I was going to here, but yeah xD Thanks for those who answered my questions at the end of last chapter, it really helped! :D I hope to read from you all again & new people too! Please, __**REVIEW~**__ :)_


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